"Lyra-a-a-a," Chen's voice called. It echoed through the empty hallways. Lyra couldn't tell where it came from. "I'm going to find youu! You're gonna die-e-e!"

His giggles sounded like a possessed baby. They found their way directly into Lyra's ear and stayed there, replaying over and over again. Lyra pushed herself further into the shadows. Fear pierced her heart like a dagger made out of ice, stabbing over and over again. She was frozen, completely immobile. All she could do was hope that her father didn't find her hiding spot.

The laughter drew closer. "There you are, my daughter. Don't you know you can't escape fate?" Chen's face shifted into a green, blurred mess. His tone lowered as he chuckled. "Before I kill you, however, I want you to watch as your beloved friend dies."

The blurry face was Lloyd. "Help me, Lyra!" he cried in agony. Chen had trapped him. Taken control of him, somehow. "Please!"

Lyra could do nothing but watch as Chen drove a Jade Blade into the back of Lloyd's neck. There was a flash of green, a gust of chilled wind, and then--

"NOO!"

~I~

"NOO!" Lyra shrieked. She jumped out of bed and grabbed her new daggers, ready to stab her father. While panting heavily, she looked around. Her entire room was cast in the soft purple glow of her LED lights.

Her green butterfly, which she'd named Fern, swiftly made its way to her heart. It gently flapped its wings, creating warmth that spread from Lyra's heart to the rest of her body, relaxing all her muscles.

"It was just a dream," she murmured, crawling back in her bed and placing her Blades on her nightstand. "You're safe. Lloyd's safe. There's nothing to worry about. Chen is gone."

Fern stayed on her heart, sensing that she needed more comfort.

"Thanks, Fern," Lyra murmured. "I dunno what I'd do without you."

She pulled her covers over her shoulders, already feeling like she was about to drift off. Her half-sleep was interrupted by a bright flash of light illuminating the room, followed by a breeze that seemed to freeze Lyra's entire body for a moment. Maniacal laughter followed the wind, sounding not unlike the deep tones that had been in Lyra's nightmare.

Lyra sat up straight. "Did you hear that?"

She glanced around. The green had vanished. Fern was still resting on the pocket of her sweater, gently fluttering its wings.

Lyra sighed and sank back down under her covers. "I must've fallen asleep again. It was just another nightmare. Just a figment of my imagination. We're safe."

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.

~I~

Lyra grinned back at the ninja and swooped closer to the ocean. The tips of her dragon's wings grazed the surface, causing a spray of water to erupt behind her. Lloyd and Kai had to swerve to avoid being drenched.

I really needed this after last night, she thought. Lyra hadn't been able to sleep at all after her nightmare.

Kai laughed as he passed Lyra.

She chuckled. "Getting ahead of yourself, Kai? I'm leading this charge."

Since it was Lyra's first official mission since she'd become a ninja--which had only happened two days earlier, even though it felt longer because they'd just worked on the tea shop all day yesterday and the day before--she was allowed to lead. It meant basically nothing, except that she'd be at the front of everyone else's dragons and would call out the orders. She was best suited to be at the front, anyways, since her sharp eye would be able to see what they were searching for, but the calling orders worried her. 

Lyra's voice seemed to have a mind of its own. Sometimes, it listened to her brain and was the volume she wanted it to be. Other times, it was unnecessarily soft, to the point where no one could hear her. According to Sensei Wu, it was a defense mechanism to make sure none of her vocal chords were damaged, because a lot of her Music aspect relied on her voice, but it was definitely annoying. Especially in situations like this, where the wind was cold and relentless and could easily steal her voice away when she tried to give orders.

Lyra concentrated her power and used it as an energy burst to propel her dragon forward. She and Kai raced for a moment, circling around each other, before she smacked her dragon's tail in the water and absolutely soaked the poor Fire Ninja.

"Ha, ha!" Jay chuckled. "That's one way to cool off a hot head! Lyric, why didn't you become a ninja sooner? This is awesome!"

It really is, Lyra agreed. She was having the time of her life with this group. I really do think fate led me here. I...I belong. It's a nice feeling.

"Hey, no one messes up my hair!" Kai protested.

Lloyd stealthily drove his dragon next to him, reached out a hand, and ruffled his spiky hair, causing it to fall into disarray. "You sure about that?"

"Why, you--" Kai went to smack his friend with his dragon's wing, but Lloyd had already fallen back, so he caught nothing but water.

Lyra giggled as the wave he created splashed Zane. "You okay there?"

"Affirmative," Zane said. "It'll take more than a little water to take me out!"

"What about another nindroid? Would she be able to take you out?" Cole teased. "Y'know, around 5'4", silver hair, literally lives rent-free in your head--"

"Or a big fish!" Jay cried, pointing behind himself. "Incoming!"

Lyra squinted. Sure enough, a large fish similar to a catfish was swimming behind the Lightning Ninja, drawing closer by the second.

"There he blows!" Lloyd called as the fish leapt up into the air, just barely missing Jay.

"Pixal says this is the one!" Zane announced.

"Now that he's taken the bait, let's reel him in and get him to the aquarium!" Lyra called. Thankfully, her voice decided to obey and stay at a tone loud enough for her friends to hear.

Lyra made a sharp right turn, motioning for the rest of the group to follow her. She kept an eye on the fish, making sure it was still trailing them.

"Let me guess, Kai. You caught one that big once?" Jay asked sarcastically.

"Hell no. He was twice the size!" Kai claimed.

"Whoa!" Lloyd shouted, dodging the mutant as it flung itself out of the water and tried to eat him. Lyra prepared to blind the fish as a distraction if needed, but he was fine.

"He's almost as hungry as you, Cole!" Jay teased.

"And only half as ugly as you, Jay!" Cole retorted, grinning.

Everyone chuckled. Lyra angled her dragon towards a fishing boat lying in wait for their group. "Time for the catch of the day! In line formation!"

Lyra urged her dragon forward, making room for the ninja to line up behind her as follows: Lloyd, Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane. Just as they'd practiced.

"It's right behind us!" Zane informed them.

"Now!" Lyra shouted, spotting the fish getting ready to jump.

They all split off into different directions as it leapt into the air and landed on the boat. The sailors rushed to tie it down.

The ninja cheered, circling the boat as they watched the fish get chained.

"Now that's what I call hook, line, and stinker!" Jay joked.

They flew towards the nearest coastal village, keeping an eye on the boat until it docked at the port.

"Looks like we made this place safe to fish again," Lyra remarked. She and Lloyd were standing on the dock, gazing at two kids who'd just purchased fishing rods and rushed to go fishing. Her eyes softened. "Once we find your father, he'll be so proud at how much you've accomplished."

"Well, I'm sure if your mother was still here, she'd tell you she'd proud," Lloyd told her. "You're a great leader. A natural."

Lyra shook her head. "No, we're a great team. But thanks." She took one of his hands in her own, smiling softly at the familiar coziness of his fingers tangled in hers. "It really means a lot."

"Well, I mean it." Lloyd glanced down. "I can't say I don't miss him. I mean, who knows when we're actually gonna find Khalik's tomb? Sensei's been trying for centuries and he still hasn't found anything. What's to say it won't take another three hundred years before we even get close to discovering it?"

Lyra squeezed his hand tightly. They turned and watched the fangfish get lowered into a giant fish tank. 

"It's working!" Cole cheered. He was a bit farther ahead of them, along with the rest of the ninja. He, Zane, and Jay yelled as they got soaked by the fangfish's splash.

Kai, meanwhile, had noticed the two talking and wandered closer.

"With my dad gone, I sometimes question where I'm going," Lloyd admitted. "Like I told you earlier, sometimes I worry about who I might become."

"I know how that feels," Kai said. "After I lost my dad, I lost my way. But I was lucky enough to have my sister there. Together, we figured life out."

"I'm the opposite," Lyra murmured. "With Chen gone, it feels like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Now I'm free to do whatever I want without fearing being judged or getting him mad. Back when he was still alive, though, Skylor always did her best to watch over me, even if it seemed otherwise at the end." She took her hand out of his and put it on his closest shoulder instead. "Don't worry, Lloyd, I swore to watch over you, and I intend to keep that promise."

"I'll watch over you from now on, also," Kai decided, ruffling Lloyd's hair.

"Hey, no one messes up my hair," Lloyd mimicked, chuckling. "But seriously, thank you."

"Are you three gonna get in the picture?" Jay yelled.

There was instant chaos as the ninja scrambled to stand by the fangfish, each one murmuring about how no one was gonna believe the sheer size of their catch. Lyra waved to the camera man, who was standing close to the edge of the dock.

"Back," Zane instructed. "Back, just a little further."

The camera man nodded and took a small step back. Lyra smirked, realizing what her friend was up to.

"Just a little further," Zane repeated, motioning for him to back up.

"Ahh!" the man screamed as he fell off the dock. The ninja chuckled and made their way to the edge to ensure he was okay. "Ugh, you guys!" he laughed.

"Oh, great! Who's gonna believe us now?" Jay complained.

The fish raised its tail and slapped the water in its tank, creating a wave that drenched their entire group.

"Karma's a bitch," Cole complained as he shook his black hair like a dog, spraying water droplets everywhere. Jay slapped him in retaliation.

"Yup," Lyra agreed, twisting her braid to get as much water as possible out.

"Lyric, what's that?" Kai asked, pointing to the water flowing out of her hair.

Lyra took a moment to answer, more focused on how Kai had used her nickname for the first time. She glanced where his finger was pointing. "Oh, the paint? Yeah, it comes out of my hair every time it gets wet. It never actually washes out, though. Something to do with my powers."

"How'd you get the paint in your hair in the first place?" Jay wondered.

"I have a habit of tucking paintbrushes above my ear, and I sometimes forget to wash them, so they brush against my hair and the stain spreads," Lyra explained. "Or my hands have paint and I forget about it and touch my hair."

"What about the ends?" Lloyd gently held the bottom of her braid, which was stained many different colours in thin lines.

Lyra blushed at the close contact. "W-well, Skylor was mad at me one day--mind you, I was five and she was seven--and I'd just learned about mixing paints. This was before we knew that paint stained my hair permanently, by the way. I decided to have some fun and combined a bunch in one container. I turned to grab a paintbrush and she yanked my head back into the bucket." She chuckled at the memory. Seven-year-old Skylor had been a menace with an unmatched temper. "We freaked when it didn't wash out. Sakura tried to cut it for me, but it just reappeared higher up."

"Do you dislike it?" Zane wondered.

Lyra shrugged. "Used to, but it's grown on me. Literally." She gestured to a small blue stain. "Colours will randomly appear sometimes. It's kinda cool."

"Well, they look nice," Lloyd blurted. The pointed tips of his ears were pink. "Really pretty."

The ninja were silent for a few seconds, which was almost unheard of. Lyra was frozen in place, her mind replaying what her crush had said. Really pretty. Really pretty? HE THINKS I'M PRETTY! She felt like she was going to collapse of elation. HE LIKES MY HAIR!

Cole snorted at his friends' expressions. "Are we gonna go home soon, or just gonna stay here forever?"

Lyra blinked, still dazed. "R-right." She turned. "Let-let's go."

"That's the wrong way," Zane said.

"Oh...umm...I meant to say 'let's go get ice cream'!" Lyra exclaimed. "I still owe Jay a cone, remember?"

They're not gonna buy that, Lyra, she admonished.

Jay, who'd been snickering, immediately stopped. "Well, then, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" 

Oh, nevermind. The mention of sugar makes them forget anything else, Lyra thought. Noted.

Kai dragged Lloyd, who still seemed in shock from what he said, along with him as they left in search of an ice cream shop. "You know, you and Lyra really--"

"I'll pay for everyone else's ice cream!" Lloyd squeaked.

The ninja cheered and rushed to ask someone for directions.

~I~

The ninja landed back at the tea shop. Lyra admired the view, which she hadn't had much time to really take a look at yet. The mountains were absolutely beautiful, with tiny bits of snow peeking out at the very tops. There was a waterfall flowing into a river directly behind the walls,  and a forest out in the front. Nearby, a small village was nestled into a valley.

"I'm just saying, it was big, but I've seen bigger," Kai claimed, referring to the fish.

"As big as your ego?" Jay scoffed.

Lyra jumped off her dragon before it fully hit the ground. 

"You in a rush?" Lloyd questioned, landing beside her.

"No, the wind is just really cold today," she explained.

"That's because it is officially fall now," Zane said.

"Yeah, but this is the coldest I've ever felt it," Lyra said.

"This isn't even that bad!" Jay exclaimed. "How are you cold?"

"I dunno." Lyra shrugged. "Maybe the island didn't have as harsh weather as here?"

"Ninja, you have to find customers!" Wu announced, stepping out of the shop with a box in hand.

"No 'hello, how's it going, glad to hear you saved the day again'?" Jay questioned.

"Yeah, Sensei, we're all a bit tired," Cole complained. "You mind if we handle this tomorrow?"

"We all have a share if this business succeeds," Wu reminded them.

"Not me," Lyra said. They'd talked about this already. She had enough money as is. In fact, she was willing to use all of it as a retirement fund for Wu, but he refused. He wanted to work. 

"Yes, of course." Wu nodded to her. "But for the rest of you--how else do you expect me to be able to afford all your new uniforms?"

"New uniforms?" Zane repeated, frowning.

"We just got new ones," Kai reminded him. "Two days ago."

"Not that type of uniform," Wu informed them. He opened his box and pulled a shirt out. "This type."

He was holding an off-white T-shirt with teal accents and Steep Wisdom (the name of the tea shop)'s logo in the middle: a large blue tea pot that looked exactly like his own.

"They resemble work attire," Zane noted.

"Very observant, Zane," Wu praised. "We must focus on furthering brand awareness. The posters we're putting in Chen's Noodle House have not been taken to the restaurants yet, meaning next to nobody knows our shop exists." He pulled out a large stack of papers. "And here are the fliers I want each of you to pass out in the city." He handed a few fliers to each of the ninja.

"Ugh! If I have to pass all these out, I may be the one passed out!" Jay whined.

Wu went back to the box and grabbed a much larger stack of posters and handed them to Lyra. "Do you think you could take these to your sister? She promised to put one in each of your noodle houses."

"I was already planning on meeting up with her today, so that's fine with me," Lyra agreed. "We weren't really sure where we were gonna hang out, so I'll probably help her hang these up."

Inside the shop, the telephone rang. "Oh, that could be our first order!" Misako exclaimed. She picked up the phone. "Steep Wisdom, how may I help you?"

"Aren't we gonna look dorky flying up on our power dragons with these things on?" Kai whined, putting a tea pot hat on his head."

"I think having an Elemental Dragon overrides any other dorkiness we might have, Kai," Lyra chuckled.

They walked into the tea shop. Nya, who was stocking a few shelves, waved to them. She quickly returned to the shelves as a few kinds of tea began to slip out. Lyra rushed to assist her.

"Actually, you won't be flying on anything," Wu told them. "Lyra can, because she'll be flying between villages and putting posters in each restaurant, but not those of you who are advertising on the streets. We're selling tea, not magic. Besides, you've been relying a little too heavily on your Elemental powers recently. Real power comes from the inside."

Lyra couldn't argue with that. The other day, Kai was too lazy to walk to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, so he just combined his powers with Zane's to get some. It made a huge mess.

Lloyd put a hand on Wu's shoulder. "It would be our honour, Sensei."

When the old man looked away, Lloyd sent a 'help me' face in Lyra's direction, forcing her to cough to disguise her giggle.

"Thank you," Misako said to whoever was on the other end of the phone. "I'll let him know right away."

"Is it a big order?" Nya wondered.

"It's...the police," Misako said. "They've asked for Lloyd. There's been a break-in at Kryptarium and the museum. They think the two are connected."

Lyra shivered. "Who'd be able to escape Kryptarium? The only case I've heard of was--"

"Keres?" Misako questioned. "That's because she's the only one who's been able to break out of it. She killed three guards in her escape this time, but she appeared to have assistance. The police were adamant on Lloyd checking out the museum before flying to Kryptarium, though."

"Maybe I should go with you..." Lyra murmured, turning to Lloyd. "Skylor could always wait a bit. Keres was strong, and--"

"The police specified that it had to be Lloyd," Misako said. "Something about their witness only trusting the Green Ninja."

Lyra didn't like the sound of that. It was extremely sketchy. Fern, sensing her discomfort, flew out of her pocket and landed on her head. "Okay...but the museum is pretty close to one of our restaurants, so I may as well fly you to there, right?"

Lloyd nodded. Cole offered to take his share of the fliers, and he immediately handed them to his friend before running out of the shop, Lyra close behind.

They manifested their Power Dragons and took to the skies.

I really wish I thought to bring a jacket. Lyra shivered. She ducked closer to her dragon's neck, trying to avoid the freezing wind. This is literally the coldest I've ever felt.

Lloyd noticed her shuddering, somehow. "Are you cold?"

"C-coldest I've ever been in my life," she admitted. "The wind is bad."

Lloyd slowed. "Here, t-take my sweater," he offered, pulling off his dark green hoodie and throwing it to Lyra before she could protest.

No way. This is literally straight out of a romance novel. Lyra caught the sweater and stared at it, wondering if she was dreaming. No fucking way.

"But--"

"I get warm way too easily, and you're obviously freezing, so just put it on," he instructed.

Lyra blushed but didn't argue sooner, slipping it on. It smelled like him: eucalyptus and forest and green tea. It was...really nice. She actually wouldn't mind breathing that scent in 24/7. And it was so soft, she felt like she'd accidentally guided her dragon into a cloud. She caught Lloyd's eye, realizing he'd been staring. "What? Does it really look that bad on me?"

"No..." Lloyd breathed. He visibly gulped and glanced away. "It actually..." He took a deep breath. "It looks really nice on you."

"Wh--what?" Lyra stuttered. Her voice had gone quiet again.

"You're pretty," he said. He winked then made his dragon go faster. "Race ya!"

"LLOYD MONTGOMERY GARMADON!" Lyra yelled. Or, at least, tried to yell. Her voice was still insufferably soft. "YOU CAN'T JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND THEN FLY OFF!"

Lyra's blood was pumping double its normal pace, to the point where she could hear it rushing in her ears. Fern, who'd learned to synchronize its wingbeats with her heartbeat, looked like it was gonna fly off at any second. 

"I JUST DID!" Lloyd shouted back, flying even faster than before.

This boy--

~I~

"Be careful, okay?" Lyra frowned as Lloyd headed towards the museum's doorstep.

"I always am," he reassured, ducking under the police tape. He waved to her. "See you soon!"

"Yeah," Lyra muttered. "See you soon..."

She watched him disappear. With every step he took, her heart seemed to sink a little closer to her feet. She wanted to call him back, to drag him out of there and race back to the Bounty--to their home--where they were safe.

But they were ninja. Danger was their entire thing. And it wasn't like Keres was gonna be at the museum, anyways. No criminal stayed at the scene of the crime. 

He's fine, she told herself, forcing her feet to walk away. The noodle house was two blocks down. You'll see him in an hour or two and laugh about how silly this all was. 

She shivered. The wind still managed to reach her even when she was wearing Lloyd's sweater, her own sweater, and her ninja gi.

Her phone buzzed. Skylor was at the noodle house already.

Lyra picked up her pace, wanting to get out of the freezing cold as soon as possible. She felt like it was the middle of winter instead of the start of fall. Glancing around, no one else seemed affected. There was even a small kid wearing a T-shirt and shorts. Why was she the only one who was cold?

I know I get cold easily, but this is a whole new level of it, Lyra thought. Not even Fern was able to warm her completely.

Lyra entered the restaurant. Skylor immediately engulfed her in a hug, and she relished her sister's warmth and familiar cedarwood/jasmine scent.

"Skylor," she murmured, squeezing her sister tightly.

Skylor didn't let go. "What's wrong?"

Lyra pulled away, shocked. "How'd you know?"

She shrugged. "My sister senses were tingling. Also, you're literally shaking."

Lyra looked down. To her surprise, her hand was trembling like a leaf. "Oh."

"I ask once again: what's wrong?" Skylor questioned. She took her sister's hand and gently guided her out of the restaurant. "Here, let's get out of here so we can have some privacy."

"Wait, we need to put the poster in here first." Lyra ran up to the bulletin board, grabbed a poster out of her silver bag, and pinned it in place. She looked at the paper for the first time. It had a teapot on it as well as the shop's address and phone number. 

Skylor basically dragged her sister out of the place, earning a few bemused glances from customers. "What. Is. Wrong? I'm not gonna stop until you answer. I know we don't talk about feelings much, but I can tell this is important."

Lyra bit her lip sharply, not really knowing what to say. The pain made a few tears surface, and she absent-mindedly brushed the green liquid away. Big mistake.

Skylor paused mid-stride. "Are you crying?"

"N-no," Lyra sniffled.

Skylor glanced around for spectators before dragging her sister into a nearby alley. To anyone watching, it probably seemed like a weirdly peaceful kidnapping. "What's up?"

Lyra burst into tears. "I don't--I don't know! Someone escaped Kryptarium and there was a museum break-in and I feel like Lloyd's gonna get hurt but he doesn't think so and-and-and I'm cold!" 

That last bit seemed weirdly necessary. It was part of the reason why Lyra felt that there was something up. She couldn't quite put it to words, however, because she was blubbering too much for anything she said to be coherent.

Skylor wrapped an arm around Lyra's shoulder and slowly sank to the ground with her. "Hey, everything will be okay. Start from the beginning."

Lyra explained the day's happenings, from her nightmare to Lloyd's random bursts of confidence--like calling her pretty and giving her his sweater--to the strange chill in the air. She told her sister all about the sickening feeling in her gut whenever she thought of Lloyd being alone in that museum.

Skylor frowned. "Do you think there's any chance whatsoever that you're just imagining things? I know Lloyd would usually have a huge target on his back, since he's the Green Ninja, but he's also extremely powerful. Who would have the guts to try to hurt him unless they're completely insane, like Father?"

"I hope I'm just imagining things." Lyra shivered as a strong gust of wind--stronger and colder than any breeze so far--blew by. "I don't think I'm imagining this wind, though. The seasons are changing up so fast, it's insane."

"What wind?" Skylor frowned. "It's been kinda warm today. And that's saying a lot, because I get cold even quicker than you. In the wind, anyways."

That was true. Whenever Skylor and Lyra climbed trees, Skylor ended up getting down way before Lyra because she felt the wind's chill more than Lyra did. Same thing happened when they swam in the ocean. Lyra was always much colder when she left the water, though. Meanwhile, in places where it was just the air that was cold, like the tunnels, Skylor lasted a lot longer than her sister. It was strange, but the two never put much thought into it.

"What are you talking about?" Lyra frowned. "The wind's been freezing today! I've been the coldest I've ever--"

She paused as Lloyd's hoodie pocket started to burn. To her horror, Fern crawled out. But it didn't look like its regular butterfly self.

It was on fire. It was a nasty, greenish-gray fire. The flames consumed its entire body. Lyra could do nothing but watch, absolutely frozen as the butterfly she'd grown to love crumbled into ash.

"No!" she shrieked as the gray ashes fell to the ground. "Fern!"

What the fuck what the fuck what the actual fuck is happening? Lyra's limbs appeared to be out of control, too frozen for her to actually move.

Skylor gaped at the scene. She was in shock, and so was Lyra.

Finally, Lyra's muscles regained control over themselves and allowed her to scoop the remains of Lloyd's creation into her hands. "Come back," she sobbed.

Surprisingly enough, the butterfly listened. A huge gale of wind picked up the ashes and swirled around, forming a swirling cyclone of gray and green. From the vortex, Fern emerged. But it didn't look like Fern anymore. The wings had large rips in them, and its glow was pale. Sickly, even.

"Fern!" Lyra cried. Her heart was as ripped as its wings at the sight of her poor butterfly's agony. It was flailing on the dirty concrete, trying to crawl to her. Lyra tried to pick it up, but immediately dropped it with a hiss of pain. It was freezing. 

"Lyra, what the actual fuck is happening?" Skylor asked.

Lyra ignored her sister and tried to pick Fern up again. This time, it completely disintegrated, not even leaving ashes behind as it faded into nothing but air. "NOO!"

Lyra fell to the ground. Her hands narrowly missed a shard of glass, but she didn't care. She didn't know why this hurt so much. It was a butterfly, for crying out loud. It wasn't like Lloyd couldn't just create another one.

Lloyd. Lyra didn't know how she knew, but something was wrong with him. I have to get to him.

Skylor knelt down next to her. "Hey, it'll be okay. I don't know what's happening, but we'll figure--"

"Lloyd," Lyra panted. She tried to stand up but fell as a huge gust of wind almost knocked her into the wall of the alley. 

"What?" Skylor frowned. "No, he's okay, remember?"

"Fern's gone. He made Fern. If something happened to it, that means something happened to Lloyd's powers, meaning something happened to Lloyd." Lyra was full-on hyperventilating. "We need to get to Lloyd!"

She grabbed onto Skylor's shoulder and shakily rose to her feet.

"No, you need to get to a safe space and find a way to get through this," Skylor said, gently grabbing her sister's hand. "This is a panic attack. He's--"

Lyra ripped her hand out of Skylor's. "No! He's in danger! I'll prove it!" Lyra grabbed her phone, basically stabbing the numbers she input, and called Lloyd.

No answer.

She called him again and again and again.

Still no answer.

Skylor's eyes met Lyra's. What she saw Lyra didn't know, but her brown eyes steeled. "I believe you. I'm helping. Let's go to the museum."

No I can't I can't I can't she can't I won't Lloyd Lloyd Lloyd Lloyd Lloyd--

"No!" Lyra shrieked. "You're not gonna be in danger! I won't allow it!"

"Lyra--"

In Lyra's brain, which was an entire tornado of cycling thoughts and emotions, one easy fix to her problem came to mind. She knew her sister would never give up, and she wouldn't let Skylor be endangered. So she raised her hands and summoned as much of her Element as possible.

"What are you doing?" Skylor asked, pausing whatever she was gonna say.

"I'm sorry, Sky." Lyra directed the thin, ribbon-like strands towards Skylor's eyes. "I love you."

The particles of power knew what to do. They swirled around the Master of Amber, not stopping until she collapsed with a shriek of surprise, much like the Anacondrai warriors Lyra had first tried the Element against. Steep Wisdom's posters slid out of her hands and fell to the ground, though they were immediately stolen by the wind.

With her heart beating loudly, Lyra grabbed her sister and darted out of the alley. She didn't even take a second to check for spectators before summoning her dragon and racing towards the Central noodle house, where she knew she could find help.

"Marissa!" Lyra shouted, rushing into the restaurant.

The general manager was immediately there. "What the hell happened?"

Lyra passed Skylor's body to Marissa. "She's not hurt, just unconscious. Take her and get out of here. It's not safe. Tell everyone else to leave, too."

Marissa's face, which was previously one of panic, molded into one of duty and purpose. "And you?"

Lyra's face mirrored hers. "I'm a ninja. I gotta help. But here...lemme write her a note."

She took a paper off the bulletin board and flipped it onto its back. Within a few seconds, her Painting power had written a mostly-literate apology to her sister.

Marissa didn't argue, merely taking the paper from her employer. "Be careful, a'ight?"

Lyra smiled grimly. "I'll try."

She ran out of the restaurant, which was buzzing with panicked whispers of those who'd overheard their conversation. Upon trying to summon her dragon, she found she was unable to.

Lyra's knees were shaking. Come on, this is the worst time for fear to take over! She clasped her hands together and forced her power to reappear. Purple sparks flew. No matter how hard she concentrated, however, the beast wouldn't show. I can't do this!

Lyra frantically typed into her phone's map. She misspelled the word "museum" five times before it was finally close enough to autocorrect to the real word. 

It was three kilometres away. Lyra didn't hesitate. She darted forward, letting her screen guide her. Though she felt a bit bad about it, Lyra didn't even call out apologies to the groups of people she ran into.

Her lungs were burning. Her legs were burning. But her heart was as cold as the whistling wind, which was whipping around Lyra, undoing her braid within seconds. The organ no longer pumped blood. Only pure terror and adrenaline, which drove her forward even more.

Within mere minutes, Lyra had made it to the museum. She burst through the doors, calling her friend's name in between gasps. "LLOYD? LLOYD! WHERE ARE YOU?"

The police she'd seen earlier were nowhere to be found. And Lyra would know. She searched the entire three-story museum from top to bottom. Three times. There was no sign of any life. What there was a sign of, however, was a struggle. In one room, there were shards of a  painting of Clouse, a cardboard box that was half-shredded, and piles of sand laying around. 

Lyra's phone buzzed. She glanced down at it. Nya.

Word count: 5.5k

And the angst beginss :D 

Honestly cannot wait to publish the chapters about Lyra-Morro-Keres interaction because I've already written parts of them and I love it sm

I barely edited this so I apologize if there are typos or grammar errors lmao

QOTD: Who's your favourite artist/singer?

A: Probably Christian Leave, though I listen to Taylor Swift the most. I don't even like listen to all her albums on repeat or anything but I have a solid 10-20 songs of hers on each of my playlists just because they fit the theme and are genuinely good songs imho. Derivakat, Olivia Rodrigo, Meghan Trainor, Ruth B, Em Beihold, Halsey, Neoni, CG5, and Melanie Martinez are also really good

Please comment and vote. Ik I ask this every chapter but they really do a lot (and I appreciate all of you who already do this because reading comments and seeing votes on my stories shows me that people enjoy what I read and makes me happy) for motivation and even inspiration

As always, remember to eat, drink, and get enough sleep for your age please. Just take care of yourself, and put yourself first because it's okay to be selfish sometimes<33

~Aspen