"You created a tornado?" Skylor raised an eyebrow. "How? And why was Neuro trying to read your mind in the first place?"

They were sitting on Lyra's bed, not wanting to discuss matters like this in Skylor's room because of how close it was to the tunnels. The two were facing each other, doing criss-cross applesauce, as most young women do while spilling tea--or while explaining how they accidentally almost fatally injured someone, in Lyra's case.

"I don't know! Maybe it's just something he tries to do with everyone, to see if he can trust them?" Lyra suggested. 

She didn't want to tell Skylor about the conversation they had just yet. Lyra loved Skylor, but she was definitely still on her father's side. It was weird for Lyra to think of herself on any side but her father's, but that's what it seemed to be. She wasn't sure how much Skylor would tell Chen, and she didn't want to find out. 

"I'll have to use his power later and see how it works," Skylor decided. "Anyways, what was that whole thing with you telling Father you don't know what Jay and Cole's fight was about?"

"I just..." Lyra hesitated. "I really don't think the ninja are as bad as Father makes them out to be. I mean, yeah, some of them act like they're still five years old sometimes, but they just don't seem inherently evil. And, before you say they could be just really good at pretending not to be evil, why would they bother? Father says it's pretty obvious that they're evil, yet they haven't acted like it at all. Even when eavesdropping on their conversations, I don't hear anything that doesn't seem relatively normal. Lloyd's father even lets him insult him sometimes!"

That had been something that caught Lyra's attention. The way Lloyd and Garmadon interacted, they sometimes seemed more like brothers than father and son. It was similar to the way Lyra acted around Skylor.

"Really?" Skylor frowned. "That's extremely disrespectful, though."

"Garmadon usually laughs or insults Lloyd back. But in a joking way, you know?"

"How is it the evil "Sensei" Garmadon treats his son better than Father treats us?" Skylor wondered.

"That's why I'm not so sure they're actually evil!"

"Why would Father say they're evil, then?"

"I really don't know," Lyra sighed. "And I hate not knowing, not being able to trust our own father."

Not being able to trust my own sister, Lyra wanted to say. Not being able to trust my instincts, because they're all over the place.

 "What I do know, however, is that Jay and Cole are about to fight each other, and it's all our fault," she continued.

"The only way we can help is by just being there for the ninja." Skylor paused, seemingly realizing what she'd just said. "Ugh, what have I turned into?"

"It's Kai, I bet," Lyra teased.

"Mhm, sure. What about Lloyd, then? Mini-Garmadon and his 'pretty eyes,' right? You admitted it yourself!"

Lyra felt her cheeks flush as she thought about the boy's sparkling eyes. She didn't know why she liked them so much, but, whenever she saw them, her heart beat faster and she never wanted to look away.

"Let's go to the arena. It's gonna start soon." Lyra stood up and all but ran out of the room, not wanting her sister to see how red her face was.

~*~

Fanfare played just as Skylor and Lyra sat beside the ninja, signifying the start of the match.

They were on stone bleachers that were about as comfortable as the floor. Jay and Cole were standing in a typical Coliseum-style arena, glaring at each other. Jay's hair had streaks of blue running down it in electrical currents, while Cole's feet were covered in swirling dirt.

"You tried your best," Garmadon told Lloyd and Kai. "The rest is up to them."

"I hope they can see that too." The corners of Lloyd's mouth tightened.

Lyra and Skylor exchanged confused looks, then shrugged.

"Jay, Master of Lightning, versus Cole, Master of--" Chen started, only to be interrupted by the two ninja shooting their respective powers at each other.

Lyra looked at Lloyd from the corner of her eye. He was on the edge of his seat, as if prepared to jump in the arena at any moment. His beautiful eyes were wide and his hands were balled into fists. His legs were shaking almost as much as his arms.

At that moment, her heart hurt. Lyra didn't know why, but she felt compelled to help this poor boy, whose friends were fighting to the (almost) death only a few feet below.

She tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, they'll be okay," she murmured, just barely loud enough for him to hear. 

She knew she wasn't being convincing. Despite being a writer, she was not gifted in speech. 

"One of them has to lose, Lyra," Lloyd reminded her. He didn't look away from the scene.

"Losing doesn't mean they won't be okay."

Lyra was fairly certain her father just made all the Elemental Fighters work in the factory. Now that she thought about that, it seemed inhumane.

"You saw what Chen did to Karlof. What does he do after he steals their powers? Kill them?" Lloyd finally turned to face Lyra.

His green eyes, the prettiest things Lyra had ever seen, were also the saddest things she'd laid eyes upon. They were drowning in crystal-clear tears that threatened to slip out at any moment. Lyra's heart wrenched even worse than before. She had to resist a very strong urge to hug him, to wipe away his tears, to tell him everything would be fine, and to promise she'd stop all of this.

She wanted to stop all of this. Lyra wasn't aware of when she'd first decided that, but, subconsciously, it'd been in the back of her mind since at least the start of the tournament. 

It was treachery. Her own father was running this, yet Lyra wanted to shut it down. All because of a ninja--one who was part of the very same group that Chen had taught her were evil.

Lyra shuddered at the thought of her father killing the--mostly--innocent Elemental Masters. "Maybe he just lets them go after?"

"Somehow, I doubt that." Lloyd turned and watched the two fight again, his fists clenched tighter than before.

Good job, Lyra. You made it worse.

"Stronger than you thought, huh?" Jay asked, pushing Cole's earth farther away with his lightning. "That's your betrayal flowing through my veins."

Don't hurt each other, please, Lyra found herself thinking. You'll regret it later.

"I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet when you're out of the tournament!" Cole yelled. He pushed Jay to the ground, then froze in place.

Whatever's about to happen, I have a feeling Father won't like it. Lyra glanced at Chen, who was also frozen, a piece of popcorn halfway to his mouth.

"What are we doing?" Cole asked. "I don't want you out. You're not my enemy. Chen is." He pointed at Chen, who had resumed eating his popcorn.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I can blame him for saying Father is a villain anymore. Unless Cole's confirming he's a villain and Father is the hero.
I just don't know.

"Oh, sure, lower my guard by pretending to be my friend, then swoop in to steal the prize." Jay stood up, hands crackling with electricity.

"I never meant to hurt you, Jay." Cole backed away, hands raised in surrender. "If I knew it'd destroy our whole friendship, I'd take it all back."

"Well, if we're being honest, I was upset about losing Nya, but I take blame for that. I was more upset about losing you. We used to be good friends!"

Awfully sappy for two "evil" people, Lyra noted.

"The best! Right?" Cole sighed. "We should've been honest with each other, instead of bottling this up."

Jay nodded. "But how are we supposed to stop fighting? It's not like we can both win."

Lyra glanced at her father, who was high up on his throne. She could tell he couldn't hear the two talking and was very annoyed by it.

"Maybe we can draw the fight out until they call it a tie. Quick, attack me. But not hard."

The two began to "fight," falling into a rhythm Lyra memorized within seconds. She took note of it, storing the memory somewhere safe for later. Just in case.

"Release the Condrai Crushers!" 

Chen had obviously realized what Jay and Cole were doing.

Four vehicles with snake tails drove out of the ground and circled the two ninja. 

"Ninja, go!" they yelled.

They jumped, and everything seemed to go in slow motion. Lyra watched with wide eyes, entranced as they each raised one arm slightly and lowered the other, then pulled them together really tightly. As they did so, their respective powers erupted from their crossed arms, quickly encasing them. They danced in harmony, striking two vehicles and destroying them instantly. 

Lyra blinked, and everything returned to its normal speed. She realized Cole and Jay had performed Spinjitzu, an ancient fighting style her father told her they'd stolen from the First Spinjitzu Master.

That is, if they really are evil. Garmadon and Wu are the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master. Maybe, instead of them stealing that fighting style, he just taught it to them?

Lyra wanted to go to sleep and forget all her questions. She wanted peace--no, she needed peace. 

"Ah, they fight together." Garmadon didn't seem to have noticed the time slow down. Maybe Lyra had imagined it. "Good work, son."

"Yeah, I do listen to you every once in a while." Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck.

His tears had vanished, and he was watching his friends with a vaguely proud look on his face. The corners of his mouth were turned up in a half-smile. 

Cole grabbed the tail of one of the Condrai Crushers and swung it into the wall of the arena.

Lyra winced, looking at the trapped driver. That's gonna leave a bruise.

The last Crusher whipped around and headed toward the two at full speed. Jay leaped over it, flipping gracefully and landing behind the driver. He electrocuted him--and the car--until it slowed down and came to a stop right in front of Cole. The poor servant collapsed, and the crowd cheered.

Father's not going to let this stop him, Lyra thought, looking at Chen.

Sure enough, he stood up. "Enough!" he fumed. "I know what you are trying to do, and it won't work! If neither of you will win, both of you will lose!"

Chills travelled up Lyra's spine. This is all my fault.

Lyra had been the one to realize Cole and Jay could destroy their team. Sure, Skylor then said they could tell Chen about it, but if Lyra had just kept her mouth shut, none of it would've happened. 

Chen began pressing buttons, and the arena floor started to fall, piece by piece.

Jay told Cole to take the Jade Blade, and Cole ran towards it, climbing the pole containing the Blade and picking it up. Before Chen could announce the winner, though, Cole threw it to Jay, who caught it by instinct.

"Winner!" Chen called before Jay could throw it back. He pointed to Cole. "Loser! Master of Lightning moves on."

Cole jumped down onto a solid piece of concrete. "She's yours, Jay. If she wants, of course. I should've bowed out long ago. Win this thing for me."

Jay took his mask off. Lyra could see his bottom lip trembling with suppressed tears. She was surprised to realize her own lip was doing the same.

Chen pressed another button and Cole fell, yelling in shock.

Lyra felt Skylor tense up beside her, and she knew her sister was thinking the same thing as her.

All my fault.

"Cole may be gone, but he did not lose." Garmadon began a motivational speech, though Lyra was only half-listening. "Let what he did here today be a lesson for us all. Know thine enemy, but, more importantly, know thy friend. He fought like a true ninja."

Lloyd was staring at the place where Cole had fallen. He didn't seem to have heard his father. "I failed," he whispered.

All my fault.

His tears from earlier had returned. This time, they fell. He quickly joined in a group hug with Jay, Kai, and Garmadon, so none of them saw his face.

He swiftly wiped his tears away before pulling out of the embrace. He thought no one had seen them.

But Lyra had. With each tear, a tiny part of her heart shattered.

All.

My.

Fault.

~*~

"Lyra, Master of Art, versus Tox, Master of Poison," Chen announced. "Fight!"

Lyra and Tox were in the middle of the forest. Endless trees surrounded them, and, somewhere within them, hid the coveted Jade Blade. At least, it was coveted by the two girls currently ready to do anything to get to it before the other. They each had their own reasons. Lyra wanted to stay close to the ninja. She needed to figure out what was happening, who was in the right. She needed to know why she felt so connected to the ninja, despite having only just met them. Tox, on the other hand, wanted the glory of winning. She wanted her face on billboards everywhere in Ninjago, proclaiming her victory.

There were no spectators. Lyra hadn't wanted anyone to know her weak power, and, strangely enough, Chen had agreed to let their fight be private. He was probably in a good mood after capturing Cole and would've let her do whatever she wanted.

"Art?" Tox smirked, stepping closer to her opponent. "Is that even an element?"

"And Poison is?" Lyra rolled her eyes. "At least my element is appreciated by others. People just stay away from you. Probably because you smell like an abandoned sewer."

"Wow, how original. I've never been told I smell bad before," Tox deadpanned. 

Without warning, a blue gas emitted from her mouth. Lyra took a quick step back, recognizing the blue colour to be her "paralysis gas," according to the many online searches she made each Friday, plus the questions she'd asked Clouse and her father. She searched for the palm trees she knew were nearby. Soon enough, she found one and began to climb it. 

It was a bit strange that palm trees grew in that forest, but Lyra had never questioned it. There were a lot of things in her home that were weirder than that.

Tox simply laughed and stalked closer, in no rush whatsoever. "You can't stay up there forever, you know. Eventually, you have to come down."

"Oh, I know." Lyra grinned and jumped, grabbing a leaf at the top of the tree.

The tree sunk under her weight, and, when she got close enough to the ground, she tugged on the palm leaf, taking it to the ground with her.

She placed it below her so she wouldn't impale herself on any sticks when she landed, then quickly rolled to absorb the impact. She used the momentum to stand up and propel herself away from Tox, still holding onto the large leaf. She darted farther into the forest, trusting her dark green clothing to camouflage her.

"Coward!" Tox yelled.

Lyra merely pushed herself to go faster. If her plan was going to work, she'd have to be far away from the girl's deadly toxins. She sprinted as fast as possible, relying on her knowledge of the forest to not run into anything. She heard Tox crashing around not far behind, so she led her into the thicker part of the forest, where it'd be easy for anyone who didn't have the island memorized to get lost.

Lyra's lungs burned and her legs ached, but she kept on going. Pretty soon, she heard a crash, and the sound of Tox's footsteps disappeared. Lyra ran a bit longer, just in case.

When she was sure Tox was far away, she put the end of the leaf into her mouth and climbed up the tallest tree nearby. When she reached the top, she scanned the surrounding treetops, very short of breath.

This is where my artistic ability comes in handy, she thought.

She looked over each tree, checking very carefully until she noticed a leaf that was a slightly different shade of green from the rest. She looked at it closer, then smirked when she saw it catch the light, reflecting in a very non-leaflike manner. It was around 200 feet away. The only problem was that it was right around the tree Tox had run into.

Lyra marked the spot in her mind, then half-fell, half-slid down the oak tree she was on. She couldn't let her opponent get the Jade Blade first. Not only would she lose what little Elemental Power she had, but it'd also just be embarrassing.

Losing in a battle rigged specifically for her to win would just show how weak and pathetic Lyra really was. She knew each tree in the entire forest, yet Tox might win just because of dumb luck.

She ran as quickly as she could toward the tree she'd marked, relying on her dance training to keep her steps light and stealthy, and her sharp eye plus her knowledge of the island to keep her from crashing into trees and other obstacles. When she was around 20 feet away, she was forced to stop. Tox was right in front of the tree, having seen the Blade. Because of course she had.

 She was already halfway up the birch tree when Lyra did the only thing she could think of.

She screamed as high as possible. And, as a soprano--someone who specialized in singing higher notes--who'd been taking voice lessons for many, many years, that was pretty freaking high.

Tox, startled by the sudden noise, fell out of the tree. She managed to land on a bush, which broke most of her fall, but when she emerged from it she was covered in scratches and was absolutely seething.

"You!" she snarled. 

"Me? Really? Are you sure?" Lyra backed away, looking for any possible way to reach the tree before a fight ensued. "I thought it might be someone else. I'm so honoured!"

Tox ran straight at Lyra, a stick in hand. It looked fairly sharp.

Lyra stared directly into Tox's green eyes--which were far inferior to Lloyd's--waiting until the last possible second, then ducked under her arm and twisted around, kicking her in the back. Tox flew into a nearby tree.

Gotta love physics. Almost anything is possible if you have enough momentum. 

Lyra sprinted toward the tree with the Jade Blade in it, her heart beating fast. As she grabbed the lowest branch, though, she saw something blue in the corner of her eye. 

This is where the leaf comes in handy, she thought, swinging it at the gas.

It didn't do much, but it was enough to temporarily push the paralysis toxins away. Lyra scrambled up the tree, cutting herself on many branches in the process. Her adrenaline kept the pain at bay, thankfully. 

She made it to the branch with the Jade Blade on it and lunged, grabbing it quickly, just in case Tox had something else up her sleeve. She hung onto the branch above with one hand for balance. In the other, she raised the dagger up high.

Of course, Tox did have a trap set, and now Lyra was surrounded by light green gas.

Knockout gas. 

Lyra tried not to breathe it in, but she was too short of breath from all the running and climbing and fighting. Her vision began to blur, and she dropped the Jade Blade.

However, it didn't matter, because, as she slipped out of consciousness, she heard herself being announced as the winner.

~*~

Lyra rolled in her bed, trying to gain her bearings. Everything felt too bright. She wanted to go back to sleep.

"You're awake," Lloyd murmured.

Lyra opened her eyes in shock. I'm definitely awake now! What the hell is Lloyd doing beside my bed?

Then she realized she was, in fact, not in her room, and instead in the small medical bay at the edge of the palace. Everything around was coloured a boring gray. She made a mental note to paint the room later.

To her surprise, Lloyd was the only one around. "What--why--"

"Skylor's fight is going on right now," he explained. "Everyone's watching it. Some of the Kabuki were here at some point, but they've been gone for at least an hour."

"Why are you here?" Lyra asked, then flinched as she registered the tone she used. She'd sounded unnecessarily harsh. "Sorry. I meant...why aren't you watching the fight?"

Lloyd shrugged, sitting down in the blue chair next to her bed. "Someone had to be here when you woke up, so you wouldn't just be alone in an unfamiliar place. The Kabuki were going to stay, but they looked hungry, so I told them I was fine with waiting here."

"So...you've been here for an hour?" Lyra sat up, though she regretted it when her head started pounding. Everything around her momentarily blurred.

If this is anything similar to what hangovers are like, I'm never going to drink, she promised herself.

"An hour, two, maybe three," Lloyd admitted, looking down. "So...how'd you get knocked out like that?" 

"By beating Tox to the Jade Blade," Lyra said, a hint of a smirk in the corner of her mouth.

"Wait, Chen let you two fight...and didn't even announce it?" Lloyd frowned when Lyra nodded. "That's weird."

Lyra shrugged, twisting herself to face him. "I requested it, and he seemed to have been in a good mood."

"Probably because of Cole." Lloyd's expression darkened, and he sunk farther into his chair.

My fault.

"We'll get him back," Lyra promised. She wasn't even sure if she was lying or not. "And your friend, Zane. You were looking for him, right?"

Lloyd nodded. "We all thought he was dead after he sacrificed himself--"

"He sacrificed himself?" Lyra interrupted. "Sorry, continue," she quickly added, playing with the ends of her dark green shirt.

"Yeah, he sacrificed himself so we could destroy the Overlord."

"The what?" Lyra pushed her blankets off.

"You know, the evil guy who tried to corrupt everyone and turn them into his evil slaves a few months ago?"

Lyra gave him a blank look. "What?"

"How did you not notice? It was a pretty big deal."

Lyra thought back to a few months before. Chen and Clouse had been acting weird, as if they were anticipating something good to happen. And she and Skylor weren't allowed to work in the restaurant for a couple of weeks.

"I live in a tiny town on the very outskirts of the Desert of Doom," Lyra recited her backstory. She wasn't even surprised when her gut stabbed her. "We don't watch the news much or anything, and when we do, we assume it's fake because it usually is."

"Huh. Makes sense, I guess." Lloyd shrugged.

"So, Zane saved everyone from the Overlord by freezing him with his ice power?"

"Yup. Well," Lloyd smiled slightly, "I technically defeated him first. I gained the power of the First Spinjitzu Master--"

"Excuse me, what?" 

"You heard me." Lloyd's cheeks were bright red. "He's my grandfather, there was a prophecy...anyways, I became the Golden Ninja and used the power to defeat him, except he somehow transferred into a computer virus, then stole enough of my Golden power to have a physical form again."

"Did him stealing your power hurt?" Lyra frowned.

"It was the worst pain I've ever been in," Lloyd admitted. "I felt so...weak. Useless."

I can relate to that. Ha, who would've thought, the weakest Elemental Master feels the same way about her power as the strongest did about his.

"After the ninja rescued me, I gave them part of my power, helping them instantly reach their true potential and ensuring that I'd never have the responsibility of the power of an Ultimate Spinjitzu Master again."

"That's...a lot," Lyra muttered. She just wanted to give the poor boy a hug. "And how old are you? You've got more trauma than most grown adults but you're obviously still a teenager."

"Well," Lloyd hesitated. "I'm not quite sure."

Lyra blinked. "You don't know how old you are."

"It's...complicated."

"When were you born?"

"Ten years ago."

Lyra stared at him. "Excuse me, what?"

"But I'm older than ten years old because, when I was a kid, the Grundle attacked us andIkindaneverhadachildhoodanywayssowetookaspecialtea--" Lloyd rushed.

"Whoa, slow down, Pine Tree--"

"Pine Tree? Of all the things that are green, why Pine Tree?"

"I don't know, but we're getting off-topic," Lyra reminded him. "You're ten?"

Oh shoot, I called his eyes pretty. Am I gonna go to jail? Because that seems very much like something you can go to jail for, though I guess I am legally a minor so maybe it doesn't matter? It's still very wrong...

"I'm chronologically ten years old, yes," Lloyd admitted. "Physically and mentally...a few years older. Fifteen to seventeen, I'd say."

"But how does that work?" Lyra furrowed her eyebrows. 

I may not be the best at math, but I'm pretty sure 10 does not equal 15. Or 16. Or 17.

Lloyd took a deep breath. "So one day, the ninja got turned into kids by my dad, back when he was evil."

"So he was evil at some point? That wasn't just a rumour?" Lyra clarified.

Was that when the ninja were evil? Is that why Father said they were destroying towns?

Lloyd nodded. "Anyways, they were about my age--9, at the time. He also awakened a Grundle--like the mythical creature in a lot of movies and stories and stuff--and tried to get it to eat the ninja, though it also targeted me, which is weird because he didn't want me to get hurt because, even though he was evil, he still loved me. Long story short, to turn the Grundle back into bones and get themselves back to their normal age, they had to use Tomorrow's Tea. It makes you older. They didn't want to do it, because it wasn't fair to me to miss out on my childhood, but I honestly never really had a childhood anyways because my mom dropped me off at boarding school when I was really young and when the ninja found me I trained 24/7, so I threw the tea at the Grundle and became older. So, while I'm chronologically 10, I'm around 16 for maturity, and the same goes for physically."

This poor traumatized boy. At least calling him pretty and maybe thinking he's cute isn't illegal.

"This all happened...?"

"A few months, maybe a year ago?" Lloyd paused, as if in thought. "So much has happened in such little amount of time, it's difficult to keep track."

"Wait, so how exactly did your father become not-evil? At least, I'm assuming he isn't evil. Otherwise, we'd all probably be dead right now."

"When I defeated the Overlord, who'd possessed him, my power erased the evil in his blood."

Lyra tilted her head. "There was evil in his blood? Like, actual, physical evil?"

"The Great Devourer bit him when he was a child," Lloyd explained. "He couldn't control some of his actions for a lot of his life. He was a good man, but he wasn't always able to fight the evil. Eventually, it took over."

"So, just to recap, your parents were both very absent in your life, one being evil and the other just having abandoned you, the ninja found you at your boarding school--"

"Actually, they found me after I opened a bunch of Serpentine tombs because I was trying to be like my father."

Lyra paused. "Right. Awesome. After that, you used the tea--"

"No, that was way later. First, I was captured by Pythor, leader of the Serpentine, then I found out I was the Green Ninja when Kai unlocked his Sword of Fire's true potential and saved me from an erupting volcano, then the Great Devourer was released, then the ninja--not including me--saved the world from the Great Devourer. My dad also helped by using the four Golden Weapons to destroy it. Then my dad ran away, the weapons went onto some planet--dunno how that happened--and he made the other ninja turn into kids, THEN I used the tea."

"That's...complicated. But after that, you saved the world from the Overlord and your dad--"

"I found my mother first. Turns out, she knew I was going to be the green ninja and was destined to fight my father, so she dropped me off at the boarding school and left to research ways so we wouldn't have to fight. Of course, that didn't work out, but she found tons of other information and prophecies that ended up being useful later on." Lloyd smiled at the bewildered expression on Lyra's face. "I have a weird life."

"That's one way to put it. Anyways, after that you defeated the Overlord in some epic battle, then he came back, tried to steal your power, you escaped and gave your Golden power to the ninja so they instantly reached their true potential, and then Zane sacrificed himself to save everyone from the Overlord?"

Lloyd nodded.

"But he's actually alive?"

Lloyd nodded again.

So who exactly is the prisoner with ice powers that Father has? How'd they steal Zane's powers? Are they another Master of Ice? Having two Masters of one element is rare, but it isn't unheard of. Father said they stole it from Zane's dead body or something, but if he's alive...
Wait.
Oh my First Spinjitzu Master, I'm so dumb.
Father has Zane.
The ninja aren't evil. It's him. I can't believe it took me this long to realize.

Lyra's breathing sped up. Her sight blurred, and her heart pounded. She needed to be alone. 

"Lyra?" Lloyd's voice interrupted Lyra's existential crisis. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just feeling restless. I wanna get up," Lyra lied. She wanted to stay in bed all day, thinking about this new revelation.

"Do you...need help?" Lloyd asked, a tinge of light pink dusting his cheeks.

"Probably not." Without warning, Lyra sprang out of the bed, grinning when she didn't even stumble. "I don't think the gas Tox used injured me at all. If anything, it helped me catch up on some missed sleep."

She blinked as her vision turned black for a moment, like a glitched TV screen. Lloyd was immediately beside her, holding her arm to keep her steady.

"Think I got up too fast," Lyra muttered, blinking rapidly until she could see Lloyd's dazzling eyes again. 

"You think?" Lloyd scoffed. "Wanna sit down again?"

"Uh, no. I've done enough of that today. We should go find Skylor and congratulate her on her win."

"How do you know if she won or not?"

"I'm related to Jacob, remember? I think he's like my second cousin or something," Lyra lied. "I've heard enough family gossip about him to know he's...not completely there. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure Skylor is just invincible."

Not to mention my evil father totally made sure his favourite daughter would win.

"Are you sure? I don't even know what Skylor's power is. I heard at some point it was fire, but that just seems unlikely, because Kai has a small family and he's never heard of Skylor before."

Who told him it was fire? Of all things, fire? 

"Oh, it's Amber," Lyra told him.

"How do you know?"

"Because she's my friend, and, when I first met her on the boat coming here, we told each other what elements we control."

"What even is Amber?" Lloyd asked. "Control over fossils? Wait, can she turn things into fossils?"

"No. She can absorb elemental powers. She can't steal them, but she's able to temporarily use them," explained Lyra. "It's really cool. She absorbed Kai's powers at some point, and, a different time, she experimented with Griffen's. It looked so fun."

She also used Zane's powers at some point. Does she know we have him? That the "stranger" our father imprisoned was him all along? Does she care? Does she still think the ninja are evil?

Lyra knew for sure that the ninja were good. Honestly, she'd known since she first saw Lloyd's eyes. No villain had that much kindness when looking at others. No one could fake that.

"You two sure are close for people who met a few days ago," Lloyd commented, taking his hand off her arm. Lyra had forgotten it was there, so the movement surprised her. "Sorry."

"I mean, the two of us are also fairly close, right?" Lyra pointed out. "And we met at the same time. I guess I'm just good at making friends."

Lloyd grinned. "Guess so. Now, we should go congratulate Skylor on her win, and see if Kai has realized her power means they aren't related."

Lyra's eyes lit up. "I knew he liked her!"

Deciding how she felt about Chen could wait.

Was that too much talking for one chapter? Idk I personally prefer more dialogue than action but tell me what y'all think.

Word count: 5.4k

QOTD: Are you a morning person or a night owl?

A: I'm both. Not at the same time, like I won't stay up late then get up early, but I love staying up (it's currently 1 AM for me) because I just don't like sleeping. Waking up early, when no one else in the house is awake, is also awesome. So I'm either one.

Please do comment and vote because it really does help with motivation and motivation=writing often

Don't forget to tell me if you notice any grammar/spelling errors! I don't find it rude at all, just very helpful. I was too lazy to edit this chapter more than three times, so it's very possible that there are some typos I missed

Remember to drink water, eat food, and get an appropriate amount of sleep for your age please<3

~Aspen