I know it's been a while since most of you read the previous book, so quick reminder: Skylor kissed Kai in order to get his element, but he was he was pretty upset when he found out because he didn't like that she used him. Skylor didn't really understand why he was so upset because her one example of an intimate relationship was kind of a terrible influence. They haven't had a chance to talk about it properly yet, but they will now, so yay closure!
"I can sense Skylor nearby," Neuro reported. "It's hard to get a clear read . . ." He was silent for a moment as he reached out with his powers. Nya waited, her hands tensed on the controls as she led the copter in the vague direction that he had indicated. "Her thoughts are too erratic; I can't get a lock on her location. She's more focused on evading her pursuers."
"Wait – I think I see them!" Seliel shouted through the comms. Nya saw the Roto Jet suddenly veer to the right. Nya followed her lead and caught sight of another Blade Copter hovering above the trees.
"Northwest, heading east," Nya reported to the ground team as she course-corrected. "It's Master Chen alright. No sign of Skylor yet, but they're clearly following something down there."
"Affirmative," said Pixal. "Kai and I will provide any help we can from the ground."
Nya was about to reply when she was interrupted by Seliel. "Oh no you don't!" The enemy Blade Copter was taking aim. Seliel opened fire and a shot knocked the copter off balance. It wobbled unsteadily in the air and Seliel continued to blast it relentlessly. Nya accelerated in an effort to catch up and help her.
Chen's copter spun, righted itself, and took off again. Seliel followed at top speed. But the Roto Jet was weighed down by a superior number of weapons and mismatched hunks of metal. They could keep up but couldn't gain ground until Chen suddenly slowed and disappeared underneath the jet.
"He's beneath you!" Nya warned.
"I can't see him!"
But Chen was quicker than any of them. The jet wheeled around and was soon above Seliel again. Before Nya could say or do anything, a figure leapt out and landed on the Roto Jet's left wing.
"It's Clouse!" Neuro called, but Nya could already see it, and Seliel and Garmadon were already feeling it.
Chen's right-hand was busily tearing apart anything that looked important. Smoke billowed in the jet's wake as it began to lose altitude.
Nya was following close behind now, she tried aiming for the small figure atop the jet, but it was no use. "I can't hit him without hitting the jet. They won't last much longer if he keeps it up!" It was only a matter of what wires Clouse randomly pulled. If he happened to rip out something important, they would drop like a stone.
Nya racked her brain for options when, to her dismay, the hatch on the Roto Jet's cockpit lifted, and Garmadon stepped out on the wing to meet Clouse. Nya and Neuro were both leaning forward in their seats in anticipation.
"He's going to jump!" Neuro said.
Sure enough, Garmadon leapt at Clouse and then both men were falling fast toward the ground.
Nya grit her teeth. "Tell him to watch for the blades!" she said as she forced the copter into a nosedive. The two men were tumbling faster and faster towards the jungle's canopy, grappling with one another despite the fact that they were both about to lose.
Neuro muse have sent the message because Garmadon suddenly kicked Clouse away. Nya willed the copter down as fast as it could go. She lost sight of Garmadon as the copter stirred the leaves on the canopy. She pulled up as hard as she could, knocking aside a few brittle branches along the way. A thump sounded overhead and Nya steadied the plane before Garmadon could slide off.
I'll have to land right away, Nya thought. She hated to think of it, since she knew Seliel was going to have to land as well.
Nya's already tense hands tightened around the controls. It was up to Pixal and Kai now.
Please bring Skylor back to us!
Kai lost Pixal at some point when she swerved away to take care of another hostile she spotted. He was driving blindly through the jungle at this point, with no idea where Skylor or anyone else might be. But above the sound of his own motor, he could hear rumbling in the distance and he did his best to follow it.
All of a sudden, he found himself driving on an uneven stone path. Buildings popped up on either side, covered in so much foliage that they almost resembled trees themselves. He careened through the narrow streets, trying not to lose any speed as he weaved around buildings and zipped through bushes sprouting from cracks in the road.
Then a figure rounded the corner up ahead. A figure clad in orange, pursued by more of Chen's henchmen. Kai barely had time to think before she darted down another path. Instinctively – stupidly – he hit the accelerator and crashed head-first into the pursuing rovers.
At the impact, Kai was thrust forward, his chest ramming into the steer. It hurt and he was dazed for a moment, but he shook it off and found that he was relatively okay. The vehicles must have been incredibly durable because it looked like they hardly dented each other. But the drivers appeared to be stuck in the wreck. While Kai was still trying to comprehend what just happened, Skylor zoomed up beside him on a rocket board.
She lifted her mask, shock written on her face. "Kai!"
"That looks fun," he said coolly. "Mind if I join you?" He pulled another board off the back of his vehicle and flung it to the ground. The board unfurled itself, hovering just above the cobbled path. Kai hopped on. It was a bit difficult to control at first, like surfing on an airy wave – not that Kai knew anything about surfing. But he imagined it was the same. After a wobbly start, he and Skylor sped off together.
"You okay?" he asked, trying to be serious. But he lost his footing for a moment and his board went wild. "Whoa!" His arms flailed and he lost his sense of direction as the world spun around him. Then the spinning stopped and he was rightside-up again.
Skylor laughed a little. "Faring better than you," she teased.
Kai had to remind himself that he was still supposed to be angry with her for deceiving him, but that was hard when he knew he had also been lying to her – and when she was ribbing him like that. It just felt good to see her again.
He didn't have to worry about it for too long though, because a Blade Copter suddenly appeared – and he had a feeling it wasn't Nya creeping up on them.
Kai and Skylor took off. He had to wonder what had happened if Chen had been able to escape both of their airmen. And for that matter, how were Kai and Skylor supposed to lose him? They were smaller and faster, but Chen had firepower.
"I have an idea!" Skylor shouted over the rushing air. She yanked her glove off and held her hand out to him.
Not this again. They were supposed to be allies right now, but Skylor wouldn't know that yet, and Kai couldn't help but wonder if she had something else up her sleeve. But Chen was drawing closer, and they were running out of time before he would take aim and shoot one of them down.
"You have to trust –"
Kai ripped his glove off, grabbed her hand, and unsheathed his sword. "Let's do it!"
They both unleashed a blast of fire into the air. Smoke billowed and enveloped the Blade Copter. As soon as it was obscured from view, the two ninja dived below the trees.
Above, the Blade Copter slowed and hovered uncertainly. Then it turned and disappeared back the way it had come.
Skylor and Kai watched from the ground, hiding in the ruins of the ancient village until Chen and his copters were out of sight. As soon as it was gone, Kai radioed back to the others.
"I found Skylor! Chen's still on the hunt, but we're out of his sight for now."
"Glad to hear it," Seliel answered. "If no one else is hurt, we should each head back on our own. We'll be less conspicuous that way. Radio if you need any help."
There was a chorus of agreement, and then it went silent again.
Next, Kai took a moment to get his bearings. He had completely lost track of where they were in the chase, and had no idea how to get back. All this jungle and even the old buildings looked the same. He just hoped that they could make it back on their own. Having to call someone to pick them up would be likely to attract Chen's attention.
"We'll have to keep the boards on a low hover," he said to Skylor. "Any idea which way Chen's palace is from here?"
"Of course, I know this island like the back of my hand."
Right, because she grew up here, Kai remembered. He still couldn't understand how a nice girl like her was related to a maniac like Chen. "Good. I guess I'll let you lead the way then."
"Kai, before we go, I have something to tell you."
Kai turned to walk down the uneven path. "You can tell me on the way there. The others will be waiting."
"But this is important," she said, coming around so she could speak to him face-to-face. "I want to apologize. Properly this time."
Last time he had been helping Chen track down her and her friends. And that had only been a few days ago. His brow creased at the memory. Funny how things could change so drastically so quickly. But maybe that meant Skylor had changed as well.
"I know now that what I did was wrong," she said. "I mean, I understand. I know what it's like to be used for your power, to have someone make you think they care about you, just to get what they want." She looked down at her hands flexing her fingers. "My dad wants to use my power, now that his staff is gone. He thinks that if I could absorb everyone's elements, it might give him another chance to turn into an Anacondrai."
Absorb all of their elements at once? Was that possible? Not to mention that it sounded dangerous, trying to shove all that power into one person. Kai started to realize what Skylor was trying to say.
"I want to apologize too," he said. "I practically led him right to you that day. At that time, I had seen enough to understand what kind of person Chen was, but I still kept doing what he wanted. We should have turned on him then, but I . . ."
I didn't want to let down Master Wu, Kai thought. They had known that the alliance with Chen was bad news from the beginning, and if Master Wu hadn't been able to see that, they should have at least brought it to his attention when things started going sour. But he couldn't change what had happened, so he just said, "I'm sorry. Despite what you might think of me, I don't want to hurt anyone, and I want to do better."
Skylor smiled a little. "I understand. I want to do better, too. And I promise," She clenched her fist. "I won't use your fire against you or your friends." Then she smirked. "At least, not this time."
Kai let himself relax and smiled in return. "Well, you're in luck. Both our teams have a truce right now, until we stop Chen.
"I was wondering why you had come to rescue me."
"Don't let it go to your head."
"Look who's talking."
They both laughed, and just like that, the walls between them vanished.
"The palace is this way," Skylor nodded. "We can use the boards, like you said. We're almost clear across the islands, so it would be a pretty far walk."
"Sounds like a plan." Kai was just about to hop on the rocket board when something caught his attention. It sounded like crumbling stone. He looked up at the ruins surrounding them.
"Something wrong?" Skylor asked.
"I thought I heard something."
Skylor took a moment to gaze around, but there was no noticeable threat. "Probably just some of the wildlife. I'm sure plenty of critters have made their homes in these ruins."
"Let's just hurry back." Kai had learned in the dark dimension how threatening a seemingly inconsequential sound could really be. He and Skylor got back on their boards and were soon rocketing through the forest, leaving the ruins and hopefully their dangers behind.
So now Clouse hasn't fallen into the Cursed Realm so he gets to stick around a little longer... yay...