Chapter Twenty-Five: Healed

"Well then, figure it out!"

Laurie blinked, bringing her gaze up from the ground, which she didn't know she'd been staring at. Her hands were clasped around the shoulders of her cousin, a familiar blade pressed up against his back. "What's. . . going on?" she whispered to herself, truly disoriented. She was feeling different than she had before. Almost lightheaded.

"I-I really don't know what's happening! I don't know how she's doing it! She shouldn't be able to do anything like that!" Jay was panicking, his words tripping over themselves as he tried to talk faster and faster. Laurie stood on the tips of her toes, barely peeking over her cousin's shoulders. The other three ninja were standing around Jay, looking more than upset with him. "He'll know what to do about it, I promise. That is. . . if we can't figure out why this is happening before we get back to Ninjago City."

Lucas felt the pressure around his shoulders tighten and he glanced back to see Laurie timidly watching the others bicker. "Hey, you doing okay?" He gave a small smile, his face unusually cheerful.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Laurie felt her eyes widen as Lucas' smile turned into a smirk. "Don't give me that look. You're freaking me out."

The brunet couldn't help himself. He laughed, trying to keep the sound as quiet as he could. No need to draw any unwanted attention back over in his direction. "It's nice to hear you talk like that again. So it must've really worked. I mean, the guys have been freaking out about it for the past couple of minutes, but I didn't really want to turn around to see if it had actually worked or not. I'm glad it did. Welcome back."

"What are you talking abou-" The Ninja of Wind cut her sentence short just as she saw Kai stalking towards her. Her heart started racing as her stomach froze. That was when she truly really something was wrong. She was scared. She hadn't been scared since. . . So it must've really worked. Her mind was whirling now as Kai grew closer and closer. Fear. The last time it had really plagued her was back when the guys had first caught her. Then it had vanished completely, dragging all her other emotions away with it.

Kai shoved Lucas aside, ripping him from Laurie's grasp. The grey ninja tumbled to the ground, managing to catch himself painfully with his right knee. His face contorted into a grimace for a split second before he was struggling to stand once again. Zane and Cole rushed Lucas, holding him back from doing anything. Growling, Lucas flexed his bound hands. But now wasn't the time to act too rash. Any escape attempt wouldn't work just yet. He needed to wait a little longer. He needed to be patient.

She felt her breath catch as Kai pulled her towards him by the clasp of her cloak. His violet eyes blazed with hatred and distrust, but Laurie couldn't tell if it was specifically directed at her or not. As he studied her, Laurie felt her face blush, and she quickly averted her gaze elsewhere. "Tie her up," the red ninja said.

Realization hit Laurie like a ton of bricks. She dared a quick glance in Lucas' direction, watching as he struggled against Zane and Cole, trying to break free from their grip. When had he. . . or when had she let him work his elemental magic on her? "How dare you," Laurie spat, locking on to Kai's gaze. She was trying to summon every ounce of anger in her body, channeling it into false bravado. "No one is tying me up. Are you doubting me, Kai? Questioning where my allegiance lies?" She brought the dagger in her hand up, pointing it towards her friend's chest. "I'm not gonna let you push me around." As her weapon shook slightly in her hand, Laurie caught brief glimpses of her own reflection in the blade. Her face was completely normal, just as she had thought. She wondered how much of the skin beneath her gloves and cloak were still tainted with the Dark Matter.

Kai raised his notched eyebrow and released the girl in his hands. She stumbled backwards before regaining her balance and stowing her dagger back into the pocket of her cloak. "Well. . . of course I'd question your allegiance. You aren't exactly looking the part right now, and we pride ourselves on our appearances, if you haven't noticed."

Laurie felt herself panicking, but she swallowed hard, trying to keep herself level headed. "Don't ever question me again," the red head stated, refusing to back down from Kai. She had to keep his trust, keep everyone's trust, if she was going to figure out if this was the world she was meant to be a part of. "Besides, you're not the leader last time I checked. Cole is. So if anyone should be giving orders, it should be him." Sweat was beading on her forehead as she once again sneaked a glance over at Lucas. He nodded his head slightly as he met her eyes.

"Oh, well then, why don't you talk to Cole about my insubordination? I'm sure he'd be willing to deal with me," Kai said, stepping aside and gesturing towards the Ninja of Earth.

Clenching her teeth in an attempt to set her jaw, Laurie strode past Kai without even a second glance. What was she going to say to Cole? She didn't want to be put in a position like this. What would she do if she was still corrupted? Well. . . at least more corrupted than she was now. With each footstep she took, Laurie could feel herself starting to tremble. Keep yourself calm. Villains don't get nervous. Villains demand respect. Raising her chin a little higher, Laurie stopped in front of Lucas who had stopped struggling against his captors a little while back. "Cole," she started, holding her arms over her abdomen. "We need to talk."

"Behind you!" Lucas shouted, gritting his teeth together as he leaned forward, straining against Cole and Zane.

Before Laurie could even comprehend what was happening, a hand clamped down hard over her mouth, forcing her head back against something hard. She looked up, seeing Kai looming over her. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp, lift her head off of his shoulder, but she couldn't. Cool metal lingered along her throat, sending her mind whirring. "You've always been an awful liar, Laurie," Kai sighed, narrowing his eyes. "I can see your true colors. They're written all over your face. Obviously water boy over there did something to reverse the Dark Matter for a little while, which means that you weren't as reliable as we thought you were."

Her arms were yanked behind her back and Laurie flexed her gloved hands, trying to pull against the bonds. "I guess it just took some extreme measures to actually knock a bit of sense back into myself," the red head shouted, feeling her heart beat accelerate. "So by the time we get to the Overlord, you're gonna wish that I-" A surge of electricity coursed through her body. Kai released Laurie and watched as she fell to her knees, energy lacking.

"Sorry, I didn't catch the end of that," the Ninja of Fire mused, lifting the girl off of the ground and tossing her over his left shoulder. "Maybe you can tell whatever you were gonna say to the Overlord himself when we get to Ninjago City."

She opened her mouth to say something back, but gave up. What could she say in a situation like this? Laurie had to focus more on staying conscious than being sarcastic. It was the only way to keep the Dark Matter from spreading too much. Obviously Lucas wouldn't be able to help her again. So now it was all up to her.

Whether this was reality or another dream, she would find a way to defeat the Overlord for Lloyd. Even if it was the last thing she did.

Switching back to updating every other week now. So, expect the next update on July 17th. Thanks for reading and see you in a bit!