Happy Friday. Well, this story isn't called "Dying Winds" just because it sounds cool. Just a warning...there is blood. So yeah.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Death's Embrace
The sound was so foreign and it took a little while for Laurie to figure out exactly where it came from. It all happened so quickly though. Still feeling immobile, the orange ninja gazed back to see Rhea jump forward, putting herself in between Lloyd and his assailant. There was a loud cry that escaped her lips as a flood of red burst forward. Just as fast as the young girl had taken action, everything went silent and still. It was then that Laurie fully grasped what had just occurred. Rhea had just saved her brother's life and it had been Rhea who had shouted.
Lloyd watched with emerald green eyes as the tips of both swords pierced through his friend's back. The horrible, squishing sound that accompanied the action was something that sent a shiver down the green ninja's spine. She had dove in front of him and got in the way. With a growl, the stone man swiftly pulled both of his weapons from Rhea's body and she fell to the ground, motionless. "R-Rhea?" the green ninja asked, his voice shaking. She gave a rattling cough, but stayed down, facing away from the boy. Blood was slowly beginning to pool around her body, soaking her lavender jacket and staining her light blue hair. There was a realization that enveloped him. "Wait, that was you," he suddenly stated urgently, resting his hands on the young girl and managing to flip her on to her back. The glaring gashes from swords stared back at him. "Y-You were the one that yelled. You said something."
Her vision was swimming, but she was not sure if it was from tears or a side effect from the blood her body was steadily losing. Yes, she had said something. She could not stop the words once they were built up. Every thought and every emotion at that point in time had been focused solely on Lloyd and his safety. Her father had promised that he would not be killed and she felt like that promise needed to be kept. Rhea blinked slowly and stared up at the dark, night sky. She had to be dead by now. Her curse would have already killed her as soon as she opened her mouth. If she was dead though, then why was there so much pain? "Lloyd?" Rhea asked, her voice small and shaky. The sound of her own voice was unnerving, but she pushed that do the back of her mind. "Why are you here? Are you dead too?"
"No, I'm not dead," the green ninja replied, kneeling beside her and resting a hand on her left, upper arm. He could feel her shaking under his touch and the blood from her wounds was slowly pooling around his knees. The warm, sticky liquid was unsettling and he tried to take his mind off of it. "Y-you're not dead either though. Just, breathe and stay strong, okay?" His mind was reeling, trying to figure out how to help his friend. Rhea had been trying to protect him this entire time and now he felt obligated to return the favor. "I'm going to try something, okay? J-just give me a second." He glanced up for a moment and saw the stone man coming at him once again. With a natural reflex, the green ninja held out his left palm and was prepared to shoot any number of elements at this villain.
She felt a sudden surge of adrenaline course through her veins and, within seconds, Laurie was on her feet. This guy had already tried to attack Lloyd once and he was not going to try it again. Laurie crossed her arms in front of her and quickly swept them to the sides. A strong blast of wind rushed forward, pushing Kozu backwards enough for his twin swords to strike the roof with a sickening thud. Lloyd looked backwards, his blonde hair extremely disheveled. "I'm gonna try and heal her, Laurie," he yelled. "Whatever you do, just be careful, okay?" The orange ninja nodded and gingerly stepped around Rhea's body. She just had to buy them time. There was no way she was making it out of here alive anyways. Her new found energy would only last for so long.
That foolish girl! She had always been a thorn in his side and now was no different. General Kozu stood once more, his eyes drifting lazily over the dark red blood that now coated his otherwise gleaming swords. The boy would have been dead already and then the teenager would not have been far behind. Now she was the one that was down for the count. She was the one that had thrown yet another wrench into his plan. Kozu had always known that there would be one mission his master sent Rhea on that would just be too much for her. He never would have thought that it would have been this one. The red head charged at him and he swiped a sword out in the area between them. She ducked under it, never losing her momentum, and landed a hard kick in his abdomen.
It felt like literally kicking a boulder. A shock went through Laurie's leg and she held back a wince that was scrambling to escape her tight throat. Replacing the weight down on her limb, the orange ninja limped slightly before focusing more on her element. That was the only way she was going to be able to fight this thing. Without a weapon, she did not have much of a chance. Every nerve in her body was on edge as she concentrated on the slight tickle of a breeze that was forming around her. It grew more powerful and Laurie just imagined herself doing what she had seen her friends do so often before.
Everything was a blur as she spun, feeling the energy of the wind around her embracing every fiber of her being. It was all so balanced and calming, like the world had just stopped, leaving Laurie alone with her thoughts. There was someone standing just outside of her isolated twister though and she was not prepared to just let him get away. She took in a deep breath, only now realizing how fast she was actually spinning. "Spinning," she whispered to herself, feeling a smile creep up onto her face. "I-I'm doing Spinjitzu." This was so different from the other times Laurie clearly remembered trying to perform the martial art. She felt completely in control and calm.
He gazed on, his eyes wide and mouth curled into a smirk. So she was not about to give up yet? That was fine with him. It was always more enjoyable taking someone down while they were retaliating. The girl's form was completely hidden behind the tornado she had somehow created. Well if he could not see her, than she should have a hard time seeing him as well. With a snicker, General Kozu swiped a blood coated sword towards the teenager, but took a step backwards when he watched her jump over the attack. She landed a hard, roundhouse kick to his head which took him completely by surprise. The helmet that adorned his skull shook violently and Kozu grimaced.
Out of the corner of Lloyd's eye, he could see his sister engaging the stone man in battle, but he was not solely focused on that. He was unzipping the front of his green sweatshirt with trembling fingers, watching as the metal teeth slowly separated from each other. Shrugging out of it, the young boy took one of the sleeves and gripped it tightly, closing his eyes and just focusing. Water slowly began to ooze onto the thick, cotton material, soaking it through within seconds. "Just, hold on, Rhea," the green ninja breathed, pressing the sleeve down onto the wound that was closest to him. He tried to keep his mind focused on the person before him, visualizing her injury closing up. Instead, Lloyd was hit with memories of someone else, slowly dying up here on the exact same roof. He felt a single tear slip down his cheek as he opened his eyes.
It was not working.
Blood, dark and thick had managed to coat the sleeve of the sweatshirt, turning it a muddy color. Her vision was starting to go in and out of focus, all of her energy straining to try and focus on Lloyd. He seemed absolutely distraught, grabbing the other sleeve of his sweatshirt and pressing it against the wound that lay on the left side of Rhea's chest. A sudden thought crossed the young girl's mind. She should have already been dead, sent into the embrace of eternal darkness as soon as she opened her mouth. Yet here she lay, in pain. It was in that moment, between the faint sound of Laurie grunting as she continued to fend off Kozu and Lloyd's incoherent mumbling, that Rhea realized something. She had not been cursed at all. Her caretaker must have lied to her.
It all seemed so clear now. There was no better way to keep a scared girl silent than to tell her she would perish if she spoke. With everything that was happening, the young girl could not help herself. A small tear pooled in her right eye before slowly trickling downwards. It trailed down Rhea's face, feeling hot against her icy skin. She was beginning to notice how cold she actually felt. The only warmth that felt comforting emanated from the blood that was covering her chest and abdomen. She almost wished that Lloyd would give her the sweatshirt so she could wrap herself in it. "Lloyd," Rhea started, fumbling to grab one of his wrists.
The green ninja flinched slightly as Rhea wrapped her hands around his right wrist. Her grip was feeble and weak, every finger quickly slipping off of his skin, leaving faint crimson streaks of blood. "Give me a little more time, Rhea," Lloyd managed to say, his eyes still focused on the sweatshirt. This had to work, it just had to! If he could not use this healing ability when people actually needed it, then what was it good for? "I-I'm trying, I really am."
"There's nothing you can do." A small smile crossed Rhea's face and she felt her eyelids drop further. Despite how scared she was and how much she wanted Lloyd to be able to do whatever it is he was trying to do, Rhea knew deep down that there was an impossibility of her making it out alive. With enough assassinations under her belt, the young girl knew what a lethal wound was. Right now, she had two of them. "Thank you though. I really appreciate it." There was something within her that suddenly snapped, like an invisible cord. A rough cough ripped through Rhea's chest, burning her lungs and throat. The star-shaped mark next to her eye felt as if it were on fire.
Laurie ducked underneath of a punch, but was caught by another one of Kozu's hands. He lifted her off of the ground and the orange ninja struggled against him, kicking her legs wildly. "This ends now," the man laughed, holding the blade of a single sword against the side of Laurie's neck. The cold steel pushed in a little further and small lines of blood began to slowly ooze and trickle down her neck. She gave him a hard glare and attempted to focus. Anything she could muster would be better than dying at the hands of this stone jerk. Heart pounding erratically against her ribs, Laurie tried to conjure something that could help her in this situation.
"Imbecile," rang a cold voice. The Overlord hovered nearby, his shadowy form flickering in and out of existence. Underneath it all, Laurie could see the constant shape of a purple orb. "This was not up to you. Rhea was supposed to be the one to accomplish this." He stopped, seemingly inhaling before continuing on. "Our connection has broken and it is because of your interference. I have no more energy left. We must retreat immediately." Laurie could sense his energy dissipating, the malevolence beginning to vanish.
There was the sword again, pressing deeper into her neck. Laurie felt an involuntary gasp escape her lips as every nerve screamed. "We will leave as soon as I finish what we came here to do," General Kozu argued, his narrowed eyes resting on Laurie. She kicked out again, feeling the bones in her right foot ache as she hit his armored abdomen. "Now, your time has come to an end," he spat, lifting the orange ninja a little higher. "I'll see to it that your brother has a similar fate."
She was falling, the roof hitting her back hard. Gritting her teeth, Laurie looked up to see the Overlord growing smaller. Despite this, his voice rang with authority and pure rage. "No, you have ruined everything by disobeying orders. I had a vessel, Kozu. Returning to the physical realm was within my grasp." He hovered around the stone man, stopping only when he had completed a full circle. "As I stated previously, all of the energy I acquired earlier on the island has been spent. We are retreating now." A dark orb enveloped the two before quickly disappearing, leaving no trace of them ever being there.
"Laurie!"
The sound of her brother's voice immediately caught her attention. Laurie got to her feet and stumbled over to wear Rhea lay, motionless on the ground. She grabbed the young girl's wrist and felt for a pulse. Underneath of her fingers, the orange ninja felt a weak and thready thumping. Her ice blue eyes met Lloyd's and the two immediately had a single understanding. Rhea was dying. "Just hang on a little longer," Laurie tried, biting her bottom lip. "We can get you to a hospital. Someone will know what to do."
"No," Rhea coughed, a shaky breath escaping her lips. There was a heaviness resting in her chest as every minute passed, she could feel her heart beating slower and slower. "I wouldn't make it to a hospital anyways." Everything was numb and her vision was beginning to cloud. The two people leaning over her were nothing more than blurry patches of color. "You don't have to pretend that I'm going to be fine." Rhea's voice was small and soft as she let out another cough. Lacking the energy to raise her arms further, the young girl turned her head to the side, watching as tiny droplets of blood littered the dark roof. "I just wanted to apologize for everything I put you guys through, but also to thank you. I couldn't have asked for better friends." With that, Rhea closed her eyes and let out a shallow breath.
The orange ninja felt the weak beating of Rhea's pulse cease.
"Rhea?" Lloyd was still applying pressure to a wound that had stopped bleeding minutes prior. He threw his sweatshirt to the ground before grabbing both of the girl's shoulders. With his skin growing clammy, he gently shook Rhea, only to elicit no response. "Rhea?" he asked once more, his voice breaking slightly. Laurie brushed the young girl's bangs aside before shooting Lloyd a look and shaking her head slightly. "No," he argued, raising his voice. "She can't die! The only reason this happened was because she tried to save me!"
All of the adrenaline that had kept Laurie going had now vanished. "I-I'm so sorry, Lloyd," she whispered, watching her brother lean down to give Rhea a hug. Her muscles protested as she went to stand up, but her knees immediately buckled afterwards. Crashing to the ground, the orange ninja caught Lloyd's attention. His sullen faced appeared even more distraught. "No, don't worry about me," Laurie breathed. "I'm just all out of energy." The sun was slowly beginning to peak over the horizon, bathing Ninjago City in a faint golden light. A large shadow was cast down upon the three children and Laurie rolled over on her back to see the dragon descending. Her friends were coming.
They were all going to go home now. Well, almost everyone. Sneaking one last glance over at the blue haired girl, Laurie felt her heart ache. Despite everything that had happened, the orange ninja was sad to see Rhea's life ended so abruptly. The young girl was really just that on the inside: a young girl. Not a heartless killer, not a ruthless assassin. She was just a small girl that had taken the wrong path in life.
"Laurie, are you alright?" It was Kai, leaping over the side of the dragon and almost tripping over himself as he rushed forward. The red ninja knelt down beside the red head, grabbing one of her hands and holding it between his own. His light brown eyes skimmed over her torn dress and various injuries. "We'll get you back to the house and have Sensei Wu look at you. Hopefully nothing is serious." Without waiting for any response, Kai lifted Laurie up and embraced her tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay. I saw everything you did and it was amazing."
She could feel her consciousness slipping as Kai's spiky hair nearly took one of her eyes out. "Yeah, I'm okay," Laurie replied, watching as the edges of her vision darkened. "Get me looked at or whatever for my injuries." Her head lay down on Kai's left shoulder and she managed to whisper one last thing into his ear before she passed out. "If you really love me, Kai, you will have Nya get me out of this stupid dress as soon as possible."
I would be lying if I said I didn't cry while writing this. That's all I really have to say. ;-;
Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next week.