Happy Friday! This chapter was a little difficult for me to write. Really bad writer's block up until the end. :/
Chapter Twenty-Five: Final Offer
Rhea watched as the red head stood up, catching her attention and distracting her from the boy down in front of her. Lloyd shakily got to his feet and kicked out, looking on as his friend stumbled backwards, barely able to keep her balance. He placed a hand on the back of his head before bringing it around to inspect it. There appeared to be no blood from his injury, but the impact had not left him completely unscathed. A large knot was beginning to form underneath of Lloyd's blonde hair and he felt extremely lightheaded. The scene in front of him wavered for a moment as he slowly backed up.
Laurie caught her brother underneath of his arms as he began to fall. "Are you okay, Lloyd?" Of course she could tell that he was not feeling the best right now. He seemed a little dazed and off balance, but hopefully that was all that was wrong. She was now fully prepared to fight for his life, even if it meant giving up her own. Slowly, she looked behind her, giving her friends a wary glance. Kai nodded slightly, fearing for the worst. Laurie had just bounced back from something that had caused her to fall and now Lloyd was looking a little worse for wear.
"I'm fine, sis," the green ninja replied, standing up and bearing all of his weight. "I'm just a little dizzy, that's all." He could see Rhea brushing herself off and regaining her composure. The stone man narrowed his eyes and quickly approached, pushing the young girl out of the way. Lloyd clapped his hands together before thrusting them into the tarred roof. Everything began to quiver and quake, Laurie grabbing on to her brother's shoulders to stay upright. This halted General Kozu's advance for a moment as he took a knee, waiting for the child's attack to cease.
Slowly, everything began to calm down. Laurie opened her eyes, which she had not realized she had closed, only to notice that the situation had not improved. Her brother was kneeling on the ground, his arms crossed over his chest. Without a moment's hesitation, the orange ninja helped Lloyd up and managed to push him behind her. "I wouldn't do that again if I were you," she stated plainly. "We wouldn't want the building to come down with us on top of it, would we?"
General Kozu stood, brandishing his twin butterfly swords in two hands. The young girl he had previously shoved aside was now pulling back on one of his lower arms. He gave a quick chuckle and thrust his elbow backwards into Rhea's chest. She gave a strangled cry, but continued to hold on, her fingers scrabbling against his armored limb. "Release me," he commanded, bringing his arm forward before immediately thrusting it backwards. The young girl released him, tumbling across the roof before stopping in front of the Overlord. She gritted her teeth, getting to her feet as fast as she could before rushing back towards him, her remaining weapon gripped tight in her hand.
The Overlord beat Rhea to her target.
He swiftly materialized in front of his second in command, barely able to keep his remaining form intact. "You are a fool," he hissed, halting Kozu in his tracks. "She must be the one to finish this. I have informed you of this before. The balance must be altered by her alone." His wavering voice was the only factor that caused Kozu to carefully listen. "I have been waiting for Rhea for a while. She's a vessel and I've been preparing her for it since I found her." Pure anger radiated from the Overlord's form, tainting the air. "Stand down now."
With a deep breath, the stone man gave a slight bow. "As you wish, master," he glared, stepping aside. His fluorescent green eyes locked with Rhea's dark brown ones for a brief second, allowing a surge of animosity to travel between them. The young girl felt her muscles tense up. Kozu was always trying to push her out of the way. She knew that for the longest time now. If the Overlord had not stopped him back when she first landed on that island, she would have died just like her parents. Rhea felt like she had so much to prove for being spared and now was the time.
"Laurie, I can help you with this," Lloyd protested, becoming annoyed. His sister was being childish, trying to prevent him from helping her. "I'm fine, really." She inhaled deeply and just charged forward, meeting Rhea halfway across the roof. "Laurie, wait!" Lloyd yelled, running forward. The injury to the back of his head throbbed and he, reluctantly, dropped to a knee as a wave of nausea overwhelmed him. A loud cough ripped through Lloyd's throat and he brought a sleeved arm up to his mouth, attempting to stifle the sound. His mouth felt dry and the green ninja swallowed hard as he got back on his feet.
She could hear him struggling behind her and Laurie closed her eyes. This had to be done to protect him. This had to be done to protect her friends; to protect all of Ninjago. "I'm sorry, Lloyd," she called back, opening her ice blue eyes and focusing on the girl that stood before her. "I love you. I love all of you and that's why I have to do this." The wind started to pick up slightly, her red hair blowing around her neck. "I'm going to fight, not because I have to, but because it's the right thing to do. I want to protect you and I hope that in the future you can save Ninjago from a dark fate." Rhea's eyes widened and she shifted uncomfortably under Laurie's gaze. "Lloyd, this is my fate," Laurie continued, briefly turning to face her brother. "I accept it now."
A strong rush of wind enveloped Laurie and she inhaled deeply, taken aback by the sheer force. There was a light, it started off soft and seemed to originate from absolutely nowhere. She brought her arm up to shield her eyes, but found that the light was emanating from her. The intensity heightened as the seconds ticked on. Laurie felt as if this should have scared her, but it did not. In fact, she felt completely relaxed and confident. It was almost as if there was a part of her that had been missing, but was now replaced. Everything she had worked for was all for this: a phenomenon that she had only read about a handful of times in her mother's many books.
Unlocking one's true potential.
Lloyd stumbled forward, barely making it to his sister's glowing form before resting yet again. The wind picked up, swirling around both Laurie and Lloyd, obscuring them from sight. Cole pulled back on the reigns of the dragon as it roared loudly. "I don't like the looks of that," he complained, fighting for control of the visibly upset reptile. "She could kill Lloyd, just like she killed…" but his voice trailed and he cleared his throat.
"You're wrong," Kai rebutted, feeling completely confident. He saw what had happened, so the others should have seen it as well. That orange glow, the way Laurie's body had seemed almost translucent against the black tar of the roof. "She's reached her true potential. I don't think she could ever have more control over her element than she could right now." The knot in the red ninja's stomach tightened, but he tried to ignore it. He felt as if something bad was going to happen, but he could not place his finger on what it was. "They're going to be fine."
What in Ninjago was she doing? Rhea stared as a dusty looking cloud hid her target from her. That was not the problem, she could jump in after Laurie at any time, but she could have sworn that Laurie had been glowing. People did not just glow. "What are you waiting for?" the Overlord shouted. "Go in there and finish the job!" With a hard swallow, the young girl pushed her right shoulder towards the wind, bracing herself against it. It took great effort, slowly inching her way towards the center of the sporadic storm without losing her footing.
She fell forward, feeling the rough surface of the roof scratch up her right cheek and some of her forehead. Disoriented, Rhea struggled to get to her feet, feeling completely spent from the journey into the twister. Laurie had her eyes closed, a bright glow still coming from her body. Cautiously taking a step forward, the young girl readied her weapon. The orange ninja's eyes snapped open, her normally blue eyes were a bright yellow which sent a chill down Rhea's spine. With a small wave of Laurie's hand, Rhea felt a harsh blast of wind knock her off of her feet. Well this was going to be fun.
"Rhea, stop." She lifted her head to see Lloyd standing behind his sister. "I know I keep saying this, but you really don't have to do this." A stinging sensation erupted from the dozens of superficial scratches that adorned her tanned skin and Rhea rubbed them furiously with her left hand as she got to her feet. "We can wait until the force field disappears and then you can come back with us. You don't have to go back with that thing. Rhea, you can come stay with us and be part of a family."
It hurt so much. There was the stinging sensation behind her eyes again. She could not simply go back with them, even though she truly wanted to. There was so much Rhea regretted now and she could not simply forget what she had done. It would haunt her for the rest of her life. She shook her head back and forth, trying to clear the green ninja's proposition from her mind. You don't understand, she thought miserably. I owe my father this. He saved my life and I just have to do this. She wished she could just tell Lloyd, but her words caught in her throat and she refused to let them escape. I'm so sorry.
The harsh light that had been so omnipresent for the past few minutes was slowly fading. Rhea leapt forward, but was stopped once more by a gust of air. She just had to be patient. Laurie could not keep this up forever. Minutes passed by and Lloyd stood firmly behind his sister, a small ball of fire dancing in his right palm. He seemed reluctant to do anything with it and quickly snuffed it out. The light grew dimmer, the wind encasing the three children slowly dying. Laurie closed her eyes and then fell backwards.
Lloyd struggled to hold up his sister, her dead weight almost unbearable. With a lot of effort, the green ninja lowered both himself and Laurie down. He knelt beside her, looking for any sign of life. Her chest rose and fell softly, causing Lloyd to relax. So she was not dead. No, she had just used up her reserves of energy doing what she had just done. It reminded him of the day Kai had saved him from being trapped inside of the collapsing Fire Temple. "Come on, Laurie, wake up," he pleaded, attempting to drag her towards his friends. Maybe the force field was gone now. Maybe they could all get out of here now.
This was the perfect opportunity now. Rhea tightened her grip on her weapon, feeling the knuckles in her right hand crack under the pressure. It was now or never. So it had to be now. As the young girl walked forward, she found her mind swimming with doubts. What if she really did not have to do this? What if the ninja could actually accept her into their home after this ordeal? Maybe Lloyd was right after all. This could be a second chance to have a family, something she so desperately wanted for so long. She brought her focus back to reality, her eyes glued to Laurie's unconscious form. Whether she was shaking from fear or anticipation, she was not sure, but Rhea released her weapon and dropped to the ground with a clatter.
He knew it. General Kozu always knew that the pipsqueak never really had it in her. The Overlord was foolish for choosing her as his vessel for his return to Ninjago. Tipping the balance of good and evil was a farce and he knew it. Shrugging his shoulders forward, the stone man turned away from his master and stalked away, clutching his twin weapons tightly.
"Rhea?" Lloyd looked up to see his friend kneeling on the ground beside his sister. He was extremely weary at first, ready to strike at a moment's notice if she tried to touch Laurie. There was a small sniff that tore through the silence and Rhea locked eyes with the green ninja. Are you okay? She had mouthed the words so carefully that Lloyd was almost too scared to answer. "I'm fine," he replied, still a little on edge. What if this was some kind of trick? Is Laurie okay? That question really did take Lloyd by surprise. He just nodded slowly, feeling a wave of relief overwhelm him. "Yeah, she's just unconscious."
There was a dark shadow that fell upon the trio. A chorus of shouts was suddenly coming from nowhere. Lloyd glanced over his right shoulder and tensed up. There was the stone man, standing directly behind him with both weapons brandished and ready to strike. He now recognized the shouts as belonging to his friends. "When you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," General Kozu growled, his eyes narrowed and focused on Rhea. "You could not do it, so I will. Not only her, but him as well."
She groaned, opening her eyes slowly to see two strips of gleaming metal staring at Lloyd. The Overlord's companion gave a loud yell and thrust his weapons down. Laurie barely had time to register what was actually happening. She felt her eyes widen and tried to get to her feet, but her body disobeyed her. It was heavy and felt like lead. What could she do to help him?
"No, Lloyd, look out!"
Okay, this chapter turned out a lot different than I thought it would, be I hope that's a good thing. I thought it was a good thing. Thank you for reading. See you next week. :)