This update is a lot earlier today, but I got it done a lot quicker this time around. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. :)

Chapter Sixteen: Puppets

The cold was becoming unbearable and Laurie shivered, becoming hyper aware of her jeans clinging desperately to her shins. Each step seemed to stretch out for an eternity, the end of the forest growing no closer. It almost made sense in the girl's mind though. Time always seemed different in dreams. Now it was just lasting forever. "People can change their dreams though," Laurie whispered to herself, wrapping her arms around herself tighter and shivering. "If you're aware you're dreaming, you can control what happens..."

I want to wake up. I want to see my family. I want to see my friends. She squeezed her eyes tightly, pushing the crushing chill around her to the back of her mind. If she was going to be able to change what was happening around her, she had to concentrate. I want to wake up...

A familiar, tingling pain overwhelmed Laurie and she fell to her hands and knees. Every breath that painfully rattled through her chest was expelled just as quickly as she gulped it down. It was in her lower back initially, but it slowly concentrated in her chest. Laurie felt like she was suffocating, gasping now for any air that she could. The edges of her vision darkened and she shut her eyes reflexively. Where was the pain coming from?

"She's whimpering," a voice said very nonchalantly.

There was the sound of movement around her, but Laurie did not open her eyes quite yet. The pain was only just starting to fade, the ghost of a memory she was beginning to remember. "Yeah, so?" Another voice chimed through the otherwise eerie silence. "What's your point? You electrocuted her. Of course she's gonna do stuff like that."

Jay and Cole. They're here. Slowly, Laurie opened her eyes and saw damp grass beneath her cheek. Why was she lying down on the ground? Finally getting a better hold on her breathing, the girl went to push herself into a sitting position, but frowned. She just could not move. Squirming against the bonds that she now felt around her wrists, the Ninja of Wind let out a grunt of frustration. This was not what she wanted to happen. She was supposed to wake up, not just get trapped in another nightmare. Out of all her delusional dreams, this one scared her the most.

"She's awake now."

Glancing up, the red head saw Cole approaching her, his violet eyes narrowed. He reached down and managed to grab the collar of her shirt, hoisting her off of the ground in the process. She hung motionlessly at first, feet dangling just above the ground. As soon as her gaze met her former friend's and she saw the smug look on his face, she felt anger well up inside of her. Laurie kicked upwards, trying to hit Cole in his abdomen, but he caught her shin between his arm and his waist before giving it a hard twist.

Gritting her teeth against the surge of pain, Laurie tried to stare her adversary down and show no weakness. Cole, on the other hand, twisted her leg harder and watched as the girl closed her eyes. A hard smack was felt on the back of his head, and the former hero dropped Laurie to the ground with a thud. Turning on his heels, Cole came face to face with another of his teammates. "Was that really necessary, Kai?"

The brunet pushed past Cole. "He doesn't want anyone seriously injured, you dirt clod," Kai scoffed, his eyes settling down on Laurie who was staring up at him from the ground. "So here you are," he continued, fully addressing the captive before him. "You tried to run, to escape. Tried to live another day to fight for anoble cause and yet you're just lying in the dirt." Kai took a knee beside the girl and could not help but smirk. "Give up now, because there's no way you're getting out of this mess."

"I'm never giving up," she shot back, much to Kai's chagrin. He gave a growl before standing back up and unsheathing the sword at his hip. The flames sprang to life and he hastily cut a low lying branch off of a nearby tree in anger.

Jay walked over to his friend and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about her," he said, trying to calm Kai down. He got reckless when his temper was out of check and if Jay could not calm him down, he could possibly jeopardize everything that they had been sent to do. "She says that now, but she won't for long. She's practically one of us already. It's just a matter of time."

"Really?" the Ninja of Fire asked, sheathing his blade once more. "What do you mean?"

"She's already come into contact with Dark Matter," Jay explained. He held his left hand out in front of him and wiggled his gloved fingers. "It started here I think, in her hand, but it's traveled, Kai. Pull back the collar of her shirt if you want to see." He took a step back, a half-smile pulling at the right corner of his mouth as he gestured towards the girl on the ground.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to push herself backwards with her legs, only to have the injury that Cole had inflicted halt her in her tracks. "Relax, Laurie," Kai said, though the tone of his voice made her want to do anything but relax. "I'm only going to check something out for a second." With her heart thudding painfully against her ribs, Laurie just stayed motionless as Kai gripped her left shoulder tightly before pulling down the collar of her shirt. The grin that spread the length of his face caused a chill to run down Laurie's spine and she leaned backwards, attempting to pull away from him. "Aw, don't be like that," the brunet pouted, false disappointment dripping in his voice. "You should want this, Laurie."

"Want what? To become a puppet, like you?" the red head spat, narrowing her eyes. "Yeah, no thanks."

The ground met Laurie's face with an unpleasant smack as Kai threw her downwards. Her eyes shook for a moment, sending the trees of the forest into nothing but a green and brown swirl of colors. With a shaky breath, she allowed the chilled air that surrounded her to enter her lungs and send her head spinning with a sudden bought of dizziness. Without another moment for Laurie to try and compose herself, she was yanked upwards again. The fuzzy colors cleared away and settled into the crystal clear image of Kai's angry face. "You're the puppet, Laurie," the Ninja of Fire growled. "Still trying to follow orders from your brother, trying to carry out a mission that has already failed, but you don't want to face the truth. Lloyd is dead. He's dead, Laurie. Your strings have been cut, yet you continue to blindly obey nothing. This is a chance for you to actually be free."

If there had been any doubt in her mind before, it was immediately eradicated. This was not Kai. She just had to accept that. He was just as much dead as Lloyd was. "You're really brainwashed," Laurie scoffed, wishing she could just sent a swift punch to her captive's face. Her bound hands quivered with anticipation. "I do what I do because I know it's right. Ninjago was never suppose to fall into darkness. Destiny is just...cruel, cruel like the Overlord. If I'm a puppet, then I'm also the puppeteer. No one controls me, but me. I'm not going to fall to the Overlord like you. I have Lucas to help make sure of that."

As if on cue, the sound of footsteps upon the compacted dirt in the area became apparent. Both Kai and Laurie turned their gazes to see a figure clothed in white emerging through the fog that had greatly thinned out. "I lost track of him somewhere deeper in the forest," Zane stated, his violet eyes settling on the ground. "I am not sure how he evaded me, but his heat signature just...vanished." When he lifted his head, the android locked his eyes on Laurie and just gave a nod. "At least we will not return to the Overlord empty handed though. I bet she was easy to catch."

Her breathing quickened and she gritted her teeth. "Go choke on some oil, you tin can," she shouted, feeling a cold sensation travel across the top of her chest. No, no, they want you to do stuff like this. You have to keep your cool. Lucas is still out there. He can help you. As soon as the thoughts crossed her mind, Laurie tensed up, a tight knot of guilt settling in her stomach. This might have been a dream, but it did not mean that she did not feel like she was in immediate danger. Everything still felt so real and now her unconscious mind was playing off of her real fears. Dr. Voler's words suddenly came flooding back to her: say you were taken by an adversary during a fight. "Oh no..." Laurie breathed.

"He'll come to us eventually, Zane," Cole chimed in now flanking Laurie's right side. She was starting to feel smaller now, feel weak. Useless. "With her here, all we have to do is play the waiting game."

Zane approached the red head, standing off to her left but only acknowledging his teammates. "The Overlord can only be patient for so long," he said. "Perhaps we should just take Laurie to him now and then try again for Lucas another day." Kai shook his head and just pulled down Laurie's shirt collar once more. The ashen hue of her skin stared back at the Ninja of Ice and the smallest of smiles played on his lips. "Oh, I see," the android continued. "She is already turning. Now that this variable has been added to the equation, I see two possible outcomes: both resulting in our victory."

"Hate to break it to you, but there's no possibility of you guys winning, ever." She tried to keep her mouth shut, tried to keep her temper in check, but nothing would work. Every passing second felt like an eternity of agony. The coldness spread a bit farther. It would consume her entirely if she could not keep herself calm, but it was like trying to keep the sun from setting. It was uncontrollable.

The Ninja of Lightning chuckled darkly, peering at Laurie from over Kai's shoulder. "She's trying so hard, you can see it on her face," he mused, a slight wind ruffling his disheveled auburn hair. "Laurie, it's not worth the fight. You know what's going to happen to you, so why not just give in? It's not as bad as you think it'd be. Why can't you just trust us?"

"Trust you?" the red head snorted, still dangling off the ground in Kai's grip. "Why would I trust a bunch of mindless marionettes?"

Rough bark clawed at her clothing and bound hands. In an instant, the Ninja of Fire had shoved her up against a nearby tree before finally releasing her. Laurie slumped down to the ground, her injured leg giving out almost immediately. She coughed, her mouth feeling dry and sandy. "You said there were two possible outcomes if we waited for Lucas instead of just heading back to Ninjago City now," asked Kai, his eyes inexplicably glued to Laurie's weakened form. "What exactly are they, Zane?"

"Well, Lucas can be unpredictable, but he will not just leave the area without making sure that his cousin is out of harm's way," Zane said, hands clasped behind his back. "He will eventually realize that something is wrong and come to find Laurie. When he does, he will fall into an ambush: the first outcome." The Ninja of Wind lifted her head up and started slowly rubbing her bound wrists against the bark of the tree behind her. Maybe, just maybe, she could fray the ropes enough to weaken them and break free. All she needed was a little time. "The second possible outcome is that he will become wise to our game of cat and mouse. He will stay away and watch us from afar for the perfect opportunity to strike. This could take time though, something that Laurie does not have much of."

She was too engrossed in her own actions to pay attention to anything that anyone was saying. Up and down. Up and down. The sawing motion had to be doing something to the rope, but when Laurie turned her neck slightly to try and take a quick look for any sign of progress, she drew attention to her plan. There was a blade positioned on her chest and she saw the brilliant, alabaster sheen of it out of the corner of her eye. A shuddering cold spread across Laurie's chest and shoulders, making her gasp for air. Zane then touched his elemental blade against Laurie's wrists, freezing them to the trunk of the tree. She shivered violently and just gazed up into the emotionless face of her former friend. "If Lucas does not show up in time, I think you know what will happen, Kai."

The ice felt heavy on the red head's chest and she took very shallow breaths, hoping that her lungs were not being crushed under the weight. She knew what Zane was getting at, but she tried to push the thoughts out of her mind. It would not come to that. Laurie had to make sure it would not come to that, had to make sure that she kept herself in check. To do that though, she had to stay conscious. The darkness had seemed to spread significantly the last time she passed out, so she had to keep fighting, but her eyelids felt as heavy as the ice now. Her body was shutting down. Whether it was from shock or hyperventilation, the Ninja of Wind did not know, but the last words she heard Kai say before her eyes finally shut confirmed her worst thoughts.

"Yeah. Laurie will willingly help us catch Lucas herself."

This whole updating schedule is working out for me really well. The next update will come right after I finish up my fall semester, so I'll be in winter break. See everyone on December 12th. Thanks for reading!