Happy Halloween everyone! Is anybody going trick or treating tonight or dressing up at school? It's really cold where I live right now so I've been walking around campus with a Ravenclaw scarf and a Mudkip hat. Most unorthodox way of dressing up ever. I bet my peers in Composition will laugh at me. Here's a new chapter! Only two more after this, so enjoy. :)
Chapter Twelve: Lost and Found
"I don't think Lloyd has much time left" Nya sighed, staring at the young boy who slept on the opposite side of the cave. His fangs had punctured his bottom lip as they grew, blood trickling down his face. The tail was longer, only visible when Lloyd flipped over in his restless slumber. It was growing harder to distinguish between his scaly skin and ninja uniform.
"There's still hope" offered Cole. "I think if the Serpentine had caught Kai or Laurie they would have brought them down here. Maybe they're out looking for the anti-venom".
"Maybe they're not" Jay said, angry with how easily he had been stopped by Skalidor. "Laurie's probably not even conscious so Kai wouldn't go looking around for something with dead weight".
"Kai initially took Laurie with him when chasing after Lloyd in the first place" Zane smiled. "She was unconscious then too as I recall".
"I don't even know how you can recall it because Lloyd had shorted you out!" the blue ninja growled, wriggling in his bonds. "Kai probably wouldn't risk that now anyways. I see the way he looks at Laurie. He loves her".
"Kind of like the way you look at Nya?" laughed Cole before receiving a very dirty look from his friend. "Take it easy, Jay" he continued, clearly annoyed. "There's no reason to give up hope. I'm sure Kai and Laurie are headed back with the Fangpyre Staff right now. They'll give Lloyd the anti-venom and reverse the transformation".
"The probability of that occurring is less than one percent" Zane informed the others.
"Never tell me the odds" Nya snapped, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. "We have to hope for the best in a situation like this".
Footsteps echoed down the outer corridor. "Someone's coming!" exclaimed Jay. The sounds grew louder, and the group held their breath. "It sounds like someone walking" the blue ninja added, "but Serpentine Generals don't have feet".
"But ninja do" Cole smiled as Kai's head poked around the corner.
"Are you guys alright?" Kai whispered, his eyes shifting back and forth. "All the Serpentine are gone, right?" Everyone gasped as an outline of a hooded snake appeared behind Kai's shoulder. Turning around, the red ninja sighed. "Relax, guys, it's just the Fangpyre Staff".
"Yes, the Serpentine are all gone" replied Zane. "They left in search of you and Laurie." He glanced at the Fangpyre Staff, a puzzled look on his face. "Where is Laurie?"
Kai strode in, the staff resembling a baton in his hand. With a quick glance at Lloyd, he shuddered and left the staff near the boy. "Laurie is at the mouth of the cave keeping an eye on things" Kai stated, beginning to undo the ropes that bound each of his friends. "Of course, she wanted to be the one to give Lloyd the anti-venom, so let's take him and the staff back up to the desert."
Cole grabbed the green ninja, leading the team outside. Kai brought up the rear with the Fangpyre Staff. Quickly, they traversed the corridors until sunlight greeted them. "It sure feels nice to be out in the sun instead of the cold cave" Cole smiled. "It'll be good for Lloyd too."
"Where's Laurie?" asked Nya, cupping a hand over her eyes to block out the sun.
"Lloyd!" called a familiar voice. Laurie slid down the back of the Great Devourer statue, landing unsteadily on her feet. The unconscious form of her brother was quite disturbing. He barely looked human. "Is it too late?" she frowned, placing a hand on Lloyd's forehead. It was cool to the touch.
"Yes, it's far too late to save Lloyd Garmadon" hissed a voice from behind. Pythor slithered forward, his red eyes full of malice. "You sure gave us trouble, but we still managed to accomplish something that we put into action." The Anacondrai slipped his tail underneath Cole, knocking him off of his feet. Lloyd fell to the sand, Pythor quickly dragging him into his possession.
"Lloyd!" Laurie yelled, whipping the bō staff out from behind her back. She glared at the snake with pure hatred. "You let him go or I swear I will…"
"What will you do, Laurie Garmadon?" Pythor snickered, throwing her younger brother down behind him. "It's too late to save him so the only person you have to blame is yourself."
Laurie felt all the energy drain from her body. She fell to her knees, bō staff landing softly on the sand in front of her. "This is my fault" she muttered to herself, head bowing. "I caused all of this". Laurie felt the stinging of tears build up and she rubbed her eyes furiously with the back of her hand.
"It's not your fault" Jay called out, advancing towards the snake with his nun chucks. "We're ninja and where we go there will always be danger."
"Jay, stand back!" yelled Zane. "I will freeze him with my shurikens". Closing his eyes, the nindroid flung both pieces of metal at the reptile who stood, dumbfounded, at what was happening. Without time to react, the weapons barreled into Pythor's scales, freezing him solid. "That was much easier than I anticipated" the white ninja smirked.
"Laurie" Kai said, kneeling down next to the broken girl. "Laurie, it's okay. Zane just froze Pythor and we're going to give Lloyd the anti-venom." She stared up at him with the saddest expression, all hope gone. "Here, I'll bring you to him" the red ninja sighed, picking Laurie up and sprinting to where Lloyd lay in the sand. The Fangpyre Staff glinted in the hilt where he carried his weapons. "Take this" Kai smiled, handing the staff to the orange ninja. "Go save your brother."
She stared down at the carefully carved piece of gold. This is what she and the ninja had been trying to procure the entire day. The red jewel seemed to glow; the liquid it contained swirled around. With a renewed sense of optimism, Laurie ran to her brother, kneeling beside him. With a tight face, she smashed the staff on the ground. Red spores sprouted from it, filling the air and covering the green ninja. He gave a slight cough in his sleep, forked tongue visible, but remained reptilian.
"It didn't work" Laurie gasped, dropping the mangled gold that remained in her hands. She backed away from her brother with horror. "Pythor was right, we were too late…"
Kai was the first person next to her, his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Laurie" he tried comforting her. It was not okay, but there was no reason to make the girl anymore upset than she already was. They had lost the prophesized green ninja, but Laurie had lost her brother. "You know he's not dead though, right? He's just a Serpentine."
"He might as well be dead" Laurie cried, her chest heaving with heavy sobs. "I'm a ninja now. We fight the Serpentine!" She shook Kai's hand off of her as dust began to swirl around. "I killed my brother!" she shouted, gritting her teeth. "I did this!" The wind intensified, forming a large tornado around the girl. It grew with every passing second, becoming larger and taller. Soon she was engulfed by it, completely invisible to everyone on the outside.
"What's going on?" asked Cole, trying to shield his eyes from the flying debris. "It looks like she's creating a sand storm!"
"I believe the wind is responding to her anger and frustration" Zane observed. "This is not good though, for my sensors indicate that it is quickly becoming a vacuum."
"A vacuum" Jay asked, sliding backwards along the sand. "Does that mean she's going to suck us all inside?"
"No, she seems to be pushing the air outwards" continued Zane, worry plain on his face. "The more likely outcome is that she will suffocate from a lack of oxygen".
"What?" snarled Kai. "Are you telling me that Laurie is killing herself?"
"Unintentionally, but, yes" Zane frowned.
Kai felt his heart drop into his stomach as the wind grew stronger. "Laurie…" he whispered, unable to look away from the mass of swirling dust that continued to pelt him and his friends with sand. There was no reason for her to die, especially when she did not know she was killing herself. He remembered back to the incident in Scatter Canyon when the girl had seemed extremely winded after performing Spinjitzu for the first time. "Her powers are so great. She just needs to learn how to control them."
"Guys" Nya called, waving her hands wildly in the air; she was extremely difficult to hear over the whistling of the wind. Lloyd lay on the ground in front of her, his blonde hair blowing everywhere. "I think the anti-venom worked! Lloyd's face is beginning to turn back to its normal color!"
"Laurie actually did it" smiled Jay. "She saved her brother just like she wanted to."
"And now she's gonna die" frowned Cole, giving the blue ninja a hard punch to the shoulder.
"I-I need to help her!" Kai stated, his eyes wide with fear. "She needs to know that her brother's fine". He took a deep breath, digging his heels into the soft sand to prevent himself from blowing away.
"But, Kai, that means you may…" Zane started, but the red ninja cut him off.
"I know what's probably going to happen, Zane, but I need to help her." With that, Kai took off, running against the ever powerful currents of air. The closer he got to the tornado, the more the air pushed back. Diving through the actual twister felt like being attacked by a thousand katanas. "Laurie, it's me, Kai" he said, taking off his mask. "I'm here. Everything's okay."
The red-haired girl floated two feet off the ground, her skin flushed and extremely white. "My brother is a Serpentine" she yelled, her voice echoing off of the barrier around them. "How dare you tell me everything is okay!?"
"Lloyd is doing fine. You cured him, Laurie" Kai tried to smile. The pressure on his chest was growing, making him cough. "The virus is retreating from his system. You saved him just like you wanted to."
Laurie opened her eyes, glaring at Kai. "Don't lie to me! I saw my brother myself. He's still a snake and the anti-venom didn't work!"
"It did work" the red ninja smiled, falling to his knees. Blackness was greeting him on all sides, his lungs and heart feeling constricted. "You need to stop this tornado or you'll die". Kai felt the fire inside of him beginning to flicker. His eyes started to close.
"I deserve to die" Laurie cried. "I've messed up everything for you and the others. Give me a reason why I shouldn't perish right here, right now."
"Because I love you" sighed Kai, falling onto his side.
You have killed him.
Laurie's eyes grew wide as she took in what the wind was saying. All the dust around her fell to the earth, becoming one again with the desert. The setting sun was now visible to her as she knelt over Kai, gripping one of his hands. "Y-you love me, Kai?" she asked, sniffing.
"What's wrong?" asked a small voice. Laurie turned to see her brother walking towards her. His sickly green skin had almost completely vanished and his fangs were beginning to shrink. "Is Kai okay?" he asked, sitting on the ground next to his sister; the tail that trailed behind him was growing smaller with each passing moment.
"I killed him" she breathed, the color beginning to return to her face as well. "He sacrificed himself to bring me back to my senses." With a mixture of heavy sobs and wheezing, the orange ninja pulled off her mask. "I didn't know he felt so strongly about me. I thought he hated me". She leaned in and gave him a small kiss.
A rough bump went through Kai's chest as he gasped. Laurie and Lloyd leaned over him, their faces full of shock. "Is the tornado gone?" he asked, breathing quickly. "Where's everyone else?"
"We're right here, buddy" smiled Jay, coming to stand behind the orange ninja. "That was really dumb of you, but it resolved the situation."
"You really did know what you were getting yourself into" Zane said, bringing Cole and Nya over. "I did not see any probability of you surviving though."
"Neither did I, Zane" Kai coughed, gazing up at Laurie. "See, I told you Lloyd was safe" he smiled before closing his eyes.
"Kai!" Laurie yelled, placing both hands on the red ninja's shoulders. "Please don't leave me again!"
"He just passed out" Cole reassured the girl. "He just came back from the dead you know. I'm sure that would make anyone tired." The leader scooped up Kai and tossed his limp body over his shoulder. "We should all head back to the apartment now. It's been a long couple days."
The ninja trudged on ahead with Laurie, Lloyd, and Nya following close behind. Laurie glanced over at the female samurai nervously. "I'm so sorry about everything that just happened" she apologized, feeling every muscle in her body tense up. "I mean, with Kai and all."
"It's okay" Nya replied, looking a little unsure. "We live with this kind of danger and threat every day." She looked at Lloyd who was almost completely cured. He gave her a warm smile. "How are you feeling, Lloyd?"
"I'm feeling great!" Lloyd laughed, leaving the two girls behind for the ninja.
Laurie smiled. She was so happy she could save her brother. That was the only thing on her mind for the past few days and her narrow focus had distracted her from something more important: another stranger who cared for her.
"Laurie, you do realize that everything that happened today could have gone a lot worse?" Nya said sternly, falling beside the orange ninja in step. "My brother could have died and yours could have become a Serpentine."
"Yeah" Laurie sighed, "I know."
"When things don't go as you want them to it can become frustrating" the samurai continued, "trust me. If things do take a turn for the worse, you can't just lose yourself in pity and sadness. You have to pick yourself up and carry on." She saw how Laurie avoided her gaze. "Just some friendly advice for the future, okay?"
"Thanks for that, Nya" Laurie answered, rubbing her arm nervously. "I promise that I'll do everything I can to be a team player now." She rested her eyes on her brother who was continually poking Jay. "I realize now that I have more family than I ever thought I did."
All is well that ends well, or is it? Final chapter tomorrow and epilogue on Friday. Try to have fun this Halloween even though there is no new Ninjago tonight, meh. :/