TW: Child abuse. As usual, there'll be another TW right before it happens plus a TW Recap at the end. The mentions of child abuse + the actual child abuse will keep on going right until the end of the chapter.

"He knows we're going to attack," Lloyd murmured. "But I can't just hide here and do nothing."

They were hiding on top of the courtyard wall, watching the servants below go about their day. They were all very good at acting like everything was normal, though Lyra could see Jalin's lip shaking. She wanted to hug her friend so badly.

The previous night, Lyra had fallen asleep almost immediately after they set up camp. When she awoke, they traveled in silence to the palace.

Lyra nodded. "I need to talk to Skylor. I can make her see reason."

"No, you're staying here," Lloyd told her.

That's news to me. Fake news.

Lyra crossed her arms and raised her chin. "I'm not helpless, you know. You've seen me fight. Plus, I know the palace better than anyone else. I know my way around all the tunnels. You can't get in unseen without me."

"No matter what, we have to wait until nightfall," Nya reminded them. "There's too many people around right now."

"And then what?" Lloyd asked. "Any minute we're out here, he grows more powerful--"

"Son," Garmadon interrupted, putting a hand on Lloyd's shoulder, "Chen grows strong by taking from others. But real power does the opposite. It empowers those around you. Like the way you've empowered me."

"And me," Lyra added, her cheeks a faint pink.

She wasn't lying in the slightest. Lloyd had changed her from a pitiful artist to...whoever she was now. She'd fought people. Only a few, and most of them were on roller skates, but still. She didn't know how he managed to affect her life this much in the short amount of time she'd known him, but it was welcome. Lyra couldn't imagine going back to her old life and living in the dark about her father, about her powers.

Even though she was still kind of living in the dark about her Element, she knew more about it because of a five-minute conversation than anything Chen or Clouse had ever taught her.

Lloyd's eyebrows raised. Lyra may have imagined it, but his face looked a shade redder than usual.

No, that must be a trick of the light, Lyra deduced. Or he feels hot.

"We will get you both to Chen, and we will destroy the staff," Garmadon said.

"But--" Lloyd started.

"Perfect," Lyra cut in. When Lloyd frowned, she continued. "I'll be fine. I know the best hiding places, in case anything goes wrong, plus I have my Jade Blade." She lifted said Blade. "I can take care of myself."

"Are you sure the Jade Blade isn't cursed?" Lloyd asked, staring at the ruby in the middle of the golden hilt. "Seems like something Clouse would do."

Lyra shook her head. "The Kabuki and I made these, actually. Chen just approved the design."

Well, the third design. Lyra shuddered, remembering how mad her father was when her first attempt wasn't up to his standards, and how his anger grew when her second one was even worse.

"Anyways, let's go somewhere nice until nightfall," Lyra said. "I know a good place."

The four of them snuck back into the forest. Lyra took them close to the meadow by the eastern side.

While her companions marveled at the flowers, Lyra found her second favourite tree, a huge maple. She scaled it quickly, hoisting herself onto a branch and sitting down on it once she was around 40 feet up.

"So, what were you saying about my powers yesterday?" Lyra yelled down.

"It's a very long story. When we all get off this island, I'll explain," Garmadon promised.

Lyra shivered. She was unsure of how she felt about leaving the island. It was the only home she'd ever known, and she quite liked it. That being said, she and Skylor had always dreamed of leaving and exploring Ninjago together.

Of course, I'm not sure if I can even convince Skylor to join our side, but that's a problem for a different time.

Another thing she didn't know how she felt about was her powers. She'd been raised to believe she was weak, useless, pathetic. Now, everything she'd been taught was apparently a lie and she just had to deal with it until they beat Chen? What if it took months? The situation seemed slightly unfair.

She sighed and looked at the meadow. It was a landscape of different colours, a canvas of reds and whites and purples and blues and greens and yellows and oranges and every colour in between. A sparkling stream ran through it, whispering secrets in a language Lyra had yet to understand.

This was where Lyra went when the world became too much, when the stress of her father's pressure bore down heavily on her shoulders. She'd just sit and gaze around, smelling the permanent scent of spring and life, letting the wind separate each and every strand of her hair, until her head cleared. Sometimes, Lyra would stay much longer than she meant to, until hours stretched into days.

Not even Skylor knew she went here when she frequently disappeared. The only two aware of it were Sakura and Jalin, and Lyra trusted them not to tell anyone. Sometimes, when she'd left for more than a few hours, the two would find her there, in her tree, just thinking.

They never questioned her. They simply brought her food and warm clothing. Lyra really wasn't sure what she would've done without them.

The longest she'd ever been gone for was five days. Her father and Clouse hadn't even noticed.

The beauty of her secret area was one Lyra could marvel at for days on end. The green of the grass, the bright colours mixed with pastels, and the peace were all things she sorely needed but so rarely found at the palace. Here, she felt almost at home. Here, she felt...free.

Lyra never dared to paint the area, no matter how much she longed to. She knew Clouse would then spot her painting and wonder where it was, and then her little secret would be found out. It seemed silly for her to be worried about such a trivial thing, but the meadow was a part of her survival, simply put. It was her break from the bustling activity of the palace, from Chen's whispers of how pathetic she was and Clouse's smirks whenever she messed up.

"Hey."

Lyra, startled out of her thoughts, almost fell off the branch. Lloyd, who'd basically materialized next to her, put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

Lyra stared at the hand. He was so close to her. Her stomach felt weird, like the crows from earlier had tried to revive themselves, but only managed to roll around for a few moments before dying again.

What a great analogy.

"You have good balance, huh?" he teased. His hand was still there.

"When people aren't trying to get me to fall to my death, yes," Lyra huffed, crossing her arms.

Lloyd laughed. Lyra hadn't noticed how beautiful it sounded before. It reminded her of the meadow she'd just been gazing upon, of the stream's music. It made her smile.

They sat in comfortable silence, smiling at each other. Lyra took the opportunity to study her friend's eyes.

She was once again amazed by just how complex they were. The shades of green that had once been switching like a kaleidoscope, shifting colours whenever the light hit them differently, were now swirling around him in a vortex of emotion, of beauty. They were a whirlpool of emeralds, and Lyra wanted them to suck her down into the depths beneath, where that unknown emotion lay.

They made Lyra feel secure, like a soft, thick blanket had wrapped around her.

Of all people, how did the Green Ninja manage to be the one to make me feel the most safe? Lyra wondered. Especially when I've only known him for a week. Sorta concerning.

It was only natural to want to stay here with Lloyd, though. As much as Lyra's brain screamed how illogical this all was, the rest of her overpowered it by the simple act of remembering Lloyd's face, with his small nose, his specks of golden brown freckles, pointed ears, and, of course, his eyes.

Lyra let go of the branch and stretched her arms far out in opposite directions, yawning. She was starting to regret not sleeping the previous night.

Lloyd gazed at her in awe. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Lyra paused mid-stretch.

"Just...let go of the branch. I don't think even I would do that, and I'm trained to do dangerous stuff."

"Once again, my balance is amazing." Lyra shrugged, attempting to downplay her actions. Her cheeks were burning.

"Aren't you afraid?" His green eyes bore into hers.

"Of what?" She tilted her head to the side.

"Falling."

"Oh, honey, I fell ages ago," she deadpanned. "After the first ten times, you get used to it."

"You're so brave," he murmured. "I...I'm sure your mother would be proud of you."

Lyra stilled. She never really thought about her mother, because Clouse and her father never spoke of her, and Skylor didn't remember much. Lloyd's words caused a flower somewhere within her to bloom, though, stretching petals of warmth throughout her entire body. "I really hope so."

They sat for a bit, swinging their legs and listening to the wind whistle around them, gently swaying the branches above.

"You know we're gonna get through this, right?" Lloyd looked at her. "We always do."

Lyra found herself lost in the forest of his eyes again. They were ten times more beautiful than the meadow. "Yeah," she breathed.

At least, you will, she decided. I'll make sure of it.

It was so...peculiar how she was already willing to do anything for this boy she'd met a week ago. It felt so natural, though, as if she'd known him forever. The thoughts of him ever being evil seemed like a distant memory, a fever dream. He was the kindest person alive, and Lyra would keep him alive for as long as she herself lived.

It seemed so sudden, the way she felt so protective over not just him, but his entire team, too. Even Cole, who she hadn't had a single real interaction with. She wanted to rescue him, wanted to rescue Jay, wanted to rescue Kai. Hell, she even wanted to save Zane, and she'd never met him. It just felt...right. Destined, even.

She also knew she needed to save Skylor, to put her own sister above everyone else. Lyra just hadn't expected it to be so difficult to deny the others the same feelings she felt for Skylor. They already seemed like family, which was crazy talk, because there was no way any of them felt the same way for her. Yes, they trusted her, but that was probably the extent of her relationship with any of them, while Skylor was her blood, her sister, her best friend.

So why did she know, deep down, that she'd sacrifice her life for any one of them? She'd willingly let herself die if it would mean they'd all be safe, that they'd all be happy. It was absolutely insane.

Lloyd didn't look convinced by her agreement. He paused for a moment, as if considering his next move, then slowly, carefully moved closer, shifting his arm to drape all the way across Lyra's shoulders.

Lyra stayed perfectly frozen while he did so. Her heart was beating like it never had before. She was pretty sure Lloyd could feel her pulse.

All her thoughts about sacrificing herself disappeared. She wanted to stay there, on that maple branch, with Lloyd right beside her for the rest of her life.

"We always make it out alive," he repeated. His voice was as soft as Lyra's usually was. "We'll save everyone, and then...well, I don't know."

"I've always wanted to see the rest of Ninjago," she whispered, as if scared that talking too loudly would ruin the moment. "I've only ever been here and Ninjago City, and even then I was only allowed to be in the restaurants."

Lloyd hesitated. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly preparing himself for what he was about to say. "Well...we live on a flying ship. We go anywhere and everywhere. We see every part of Ninjago. You're always welcome to...to join us."

"You live on a flying ship?" was the first thing that came out of Lyra's mouth. She mentally facepalmed at herself. "Wait, join you guys? As in..." she trailed off, not sure how to put it.

Lloyd smiled. "We have extra rooms. Plus, we could always use another ninja."

"Me? A ninja?" Lyra's head was spinning. "What?"

The boy's grin stretched even wider. "Of course, I'd have to run it by Dad and Sensei Wu first, but you're definitely a good fit for the job. Dad definitely likes you, and it'd be much easier for you to learn more about your powers if you were with me--I mean us."

The very thought of it made Lyra want to squeal. She knew it should be a lot to think about, that it was a lot to think about. But she wanted to blurt out yes. It felt right. Like fate. Which was completely ridiculous, because why would fate care about her? She was just an artist.

Or not just an artist, according to Garmadon.

Lyra's head hurt from her racing thoughts. She tilted her head to the side. Her vision had blurred again. "I don't know. I'd have to think about it." Even with her fuzzy sight, she was able to see Lloyd's face fall, so she hurriedly continued. "It's not that I don't want to, because I'd absolutely love to, but...I dunno. I just never thought that was an option. Plus, I'd have to talk to Sky about it first."

Lloyd nodded, smiling again. "Well, the offer won't go away. Take as much time as you need. I'll still be here."

Lyra moved closer to him, heart racing. "Thank you. But before I make a decision, let's save the world."

~*~

Lyra frowned at the full moon. It was too bright. Yes, it would help her see better, but she didn't need to see. She knew the palace grounds by heart. All the light would do was help others spot them, which was something they had to avoid at all costs.

Lyra, Garmadon, Nya, and Lloyd were hiding inside a bush, preparing to sneak into the palace. Lyra's heart was pounding, causing her blood to race. She wasn't sure if it was because Lloyd was right next to her or because of what they were about to do. It was probably a bit of both.

"Remember, destroy the staff, and everyone's power returns," Garmadon whispered. "You came here to make your team whole. Finish the job."

Lloyd pulled his mask on, and Lyra fixed her dark purple hood to hang even lower over her face, so it almost covered her blue eyes. Nya shot a grappling hook out of her bow, catching the side of one of the palace's towers. They all slid down it and crouched behind the tower.

Garmadon kicked the nearest guard, rendering him unconscious. They all jumped to the next area, Nya knocking two more guards out. Lyra led the way inside through a window near Skylor's bedroom, and they crept down the hall. All the lights were off, which worked in their favour.

Lyra tried to steady her irregularly beating heart. Her attempts were in vain. She couldn't even take deep breaths, because they had to be absolutely silent.

They crept through the halls, jumping around areas Lyra knew were trapped.

Suddenly, as Garmadon stepped slightly off the path, something snapped. Alarms wailed, the lights turned on--temporarily blinding Lyra--and guards rushed in from every side.

Lyra drew her dagger and hit a guard square in the face with the hilt. He collapsed. The four of them began to fight off the guards, Lloyd staying very close to Lyra and helping when needed, when more guards jumped through the window and landed behind them.

"There's too many of them!" Lloyd yelled, blasting a bit of energy at his opponent. Him and four others flew into the wall.

"I'll hold them off!" Nya shouted. "You three find Chen!"

Lyra didn't want to leave Nya, but she saw no other possible escape. They'd have to rescue her later. She knew Chen wouldn't kill her, because Nya was close to the ninja and would definitely have answers to lots of his questions. "Follow me!" she yelled, sprinting around the corner.

Lloyd and Garmadon followed her. She glanced around, making sure no guards were there, then moved a portrait to the side and jumped in the hole behind it. When they both came through, she hurriedly put the portrait back and moved to the other side of the tunnel they were on.

"How can you see anything?" Lloyd murmured.

"I can't," Lyra answered in his general direction. "This is all memorized."

She crawled into a small alcove and heaved herself up, moving a trapdoor and the rug above it. Garmadon and Lloyd were right behind her.

Of course, her life couldn't be easy, and Clouse happened to be in that very room. He glanced at them for a moment. Lyra noted with no small amount of satisfaction that he had the beginnings of a nasty-looking bruise stretching across his entire neck.

That's what you get for holding a knife to my throat.

"Look out!" Garmadon yelled as Clouse, who'd used a spell to conjure himself behind them, blasted magic at them.

Lyra managed to dodge it, but it hit Garmadon and Lloyd. Lyra yelled as they flew back, but they got up instantly, not looking injured in the slightest.

"Go, you two," Garmadon instructed, slashing Clouse's arm with the stolen dagger. "Leave Clouse to me."

"Good luck," Lloyd called, while Lyra nodded in thanks to the man.

"Your father doesn't believe in luck," Clouse said.

"I know." Lyra couldn't see Lloyd's mouth, but she was certain he was smirking under his mask. "I wasn't talking to him."

Lyra grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. They swiftly ran through the halls, Lyra leading the way so as to not trip any traps.

Suddenly, the carpet underneath them broke, and a trapdoor opened up. They fell down a weird slide, hitting the ground without a single scratch on either of them.

"That was not there the last time I checked," Lyra breathed, panting.

"Chen and his trap doors," Lloyd grumbled.

There was a growl behind them, and they turned to see Clouse's snake's red eyes glittering from the shadows. Lyra's muscles froze up. All she could do was stare in horror.

He said he was gonna kill me with the serpent, she remembered.

She tried to move, to lead Lloyd away from the deadly beast, but she didn't appear to have control over her body. Lloyd, realizing her state, tried to pull her away, but she couldn't move.

I'm gonna die. Lyra's blood was pure ice. This stupid serpent is about to kill me. And Lloyd. And it'll be all my fault.

"Lloyd! Lyra!" a voice spoke from the shadows. She turned her head, seeing Kai holding a torch peeking his head around a tunnel wall. "Come on!"

Lyra still couldn't force her feet to move. The serpent reared back, hissed, and charged at her.

"Lyra!" Lloyd tackled her out of the way of the snake. He quickly got up, pulling her with him. "Come on, we need to go!"

Lyra stared, transfixed, as the scaly beast prepared to eat her. At the last second, it changed course and tried to bite Lloyd instead.

That was what broke Lyra's paralysis. She drew her dagger and stabbed at its eye, making it flinch back and hiss in pain.

The two raced to Kai and turned the corner. The serpent, which had taken another shot, missed them completely and stared at the tunnel they were in, knowing it wouldn't fit. Lyra scrambled away farther from it, backing into Lloyd's shoulder in the process. He merely slipped a hand around her waist and pulled her behind him, so he was the closest to the snake.

"Kai!" Lloyd cheered, taking his mask off. "You escaped. What happened?"

"I managed to slip free, but Chen took all our powers." Kai didn't look at either of them as he led them somewhere.

Lyra strained to figure out where exactly they were in the palace. All the running had thrown her internal compass into chaos. All she could tell was it was somewhere near the entrance.

"If we can find them--" Kai said.

"There's no time," Lloyd interrupted. "We have to stop Chen."

Kai turned to face the two just as Lyra recognized where they were. She gasped as her stomach dropped to the floor.

"What? What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"We need to get out of here right now!" Lyra whispered.

No no no this is the absolute worst place to be we need to leave WE NEED TO LEAVE OH MY FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER WE HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW!

"I'm sorry, guys," Kai called, jumping up onto a ledge and out of sight. "This will all make sense when it's over!"

"Kai? Kai, where are you?" Lloyd yelled.

Lyra pursed her lips as the torch's light disappeared. She grabbed Lloyd's hand, heading toward where she knew a door was, only to run directly into a concrete slab that definitely wasn't there two days prior.

She backed away, frantically turning her head from side to side, hoping to spot another escape route. Unfortunately, her eyes hadn't gotten used to the dark quite yet.

"Lyra, what's happening?" Lloyd asked.

The lights turned on. Lyra rapidly blinked as her eyes unfocused, then focused again.

Just as she'd thought. They were in the Palace Arena. The stage area had the brackets on it. Chen's face was on one side, while Lyra and Lloyd's faces were on the other.

"What's happening is the final round," Chen said. Lyra looked around, but she couldn't find him. "It all ends here."

He hopped out from behind the brackets, staff in hand.

Lyra unsheathed her Jade Blade. Her hand was shaking so hard, she almost dropped the hilt.

"You!" Lloyd pointed at Chen, eyes wide open with pure rage. "You turned Kai against me? You hurt Lyra! You'll pay for that!"

"Like I said." Chen raised his staff, and Lyra got into a fighting stance. "Only one can remain."

Lyra's vision unfocused again. She could vaguely see Lloyd shoot a green ball of energy at Chen, then heard him use the Element of Speed to dodge it.

"Oh please," he drawled from behind them. They both turned. "What use are two Elements--one being too weak to even do anything--when I have the rest of them? Shadow!"

He disappeared, which didn't do much because, at that point, Lyra's vision was so bad that she couldn't see him anyway.

She raised her chin. "They told me everything, Father. My power is not weak."

"Perhaps not." His voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "But you are."

Lyra's nostrils flared. She didn't care that she couldn't see or that she would collapse at any second, with how weak her knees felt. She was going to punch her father in the face and watch as his nose, of which he had always been so proud, broke.

"I know what you're up to," Lloyd claimed. He moved so he and Lyra were back-to-back. "The Anacondrai Wars are over. You're living in the past!"

Lyra heard him summon more energy.

"Wrong!" Chen shot a blast of ice at them.

Lloyd managed to dodge it but Lyra couldn't see it at all, so it nicked her foot, leaving her frozen to the floor. Surprisingly, the ice didn't hurt, but it definitely kept her in place.

Shit shit shit, her mind chanted. We should've left. We need to go before we fucking die.

"I decide when it's over. Which seems pretty soon, because my daughter here is stuck."

"You sure about that?" Lyra smirked, kneeled down, and smashed the ice with her dagger's hilt, only mildly scraping her knuckles in the process.

Chen cackled. Lyra was pretty sure he was dancing about. "Fire!"

Lyra could only jump, tuck, and roll, hoping it missed her. Thankfully, it did, though she heard something beside her burst into flames.

Lloyd screamed, and there was the sickening sound of a body hitting the ground.

"Lloyd!" she shrieked, not caring how her voice pitifully cracked halfway through. "What did you do to him?"

"When my followers become Anacondrai, Ninjago will be controlled by those who deserve it: The most powerful! Gravity!" Chen screamed, slamming his staff on the ground.

Lyra felt herself being lifted. She still could barely see anything. It was as if everything around her was made up of pixels, but each object only had about eight of them. She was thrown every which way, and, eventually, her back hit the roof.

"Lyra!" Lloyd cried.

She heard footsteps near her, and they were definitely too heavy to be Lloyd's.

"What you have isn't power!" Lyra screamed, though she regretted it as she was thrown into a wall. "It's stealing!"

She cried out as she hit another wall.

"Let her go!" Lloyd ordered.

"Really?" Chen asked. He was somewhere to the left of Lyra. "Okay!"

She felt herself falling. Thankfully, just before she hit the ground, Lloyd caught her, then gently placed her on the ground.

Lyra blinked, trying to be able to see properly again. Everything only got worse. Her surroundings blurred together, like a smudged painting containing only a few low-quality paints. Or one painted by a five-year-old who'd been given three minutes to colour at the end of their art class.

"Real power doesn't need to take from others!" she continued, turning in the direction she thought Chen was.

Lloyd grunted in exertion as he swung at Chen, only for Chen to disappear again, leaving Lloyd to crash into a wall.

"Real power stops people like you! AHH!" she screeched as she was kicked. She flew back, landing face-down on the carpet.

She heard Lloyd blast energy, only for it to rebound. He crashed into a different wall this time. Or at least, Lyra was pretty sure it was a different one, as this one sounded like it was made out of a different material.

Lyra stood up shakily, feeling around for anything. She grasped onto a pillar and leaned on it for support.

"Only one can remain," Chen grinned. He began to laugh his weird, overly dramatic, evil laugh.

Lyra groaned as she fell again. Chen must've been using the power of Gravity, as there was an extremely heavy force that pushed her to the ground.

"Father...why?" were the last words she said before her vision disappeared completely, along with all the rest of her senses.

~*~

TW: Child abuse. As usual, TW recap will be at the end.

Lyra heard drums beating. She was pretty sure they were in the Ceremony Room, but she couldn't be 100% sure, as she couldn't see a single thing.

When she'd first woken up in chains, she thought she was blindfolded, too, because everything was shrouded in darkness. She could only see extremely faint silhouettes. After a few moments, though, she realized she didn't feel anything on her eyes.

What the hell happened to me? she wondered, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and then opening them. For a moment, colour reappeared, then all she could see was faint light and dark shadows again. Was it a spell Clouse cast? I mean, this has been happening for quite a while, where I just couldn't see as good for a bit, but nothing like this. Her hands shook, rattling the chains slightly as they walked toward the end of the stage, where Chen was most likely waiting, ready to steal their powers. Is it gonna be like this forever? Am I...am I blind?

Lyra quite liked her ability to see. She enjoyed appreciating the beauty of her world. Almost everything she did included needing to have sight, such as painting. How would she write or design without her vision?

Though I could just die right now, so I guess that doesn't matter.

Lyra shivered. Even being blind was better than being dead, although she'd prefer to be neither.

"Look at us," the person pushing Lyra said, interrupting her existential crisis. "We're escorting the big dogs now."

The what?

"Heh. Like I said, Kapow and Chope, moving up the ranks," the guard by Lloyd claimed.

Who?

Lyra and Lloyd were forced to their knees in bowing positions. Their chains were anchored so they couldn't get up.

"We're gonna get out of this, Lyra," Lloyd said. "I promise I'll find a way."

"This isn't really looking good, Lloyd," Lyra whispered. "This looks really, really bad, in fact."

Not that I can look at anything right now.

"Why are your eyes like that?" he suddenly asked.

"Like what?"

Are they different than usual? Lyra wondered. Is it part of the spell?

"They're...they're...well, one is purple, like a deep, vibrant violet, and the other is dark green."

"What?" Lyra frowned.

It it because I'm blind?

"Yeah, I really don't know," he murmured.

The servants began to chant.

"Why would you help them?" Lloyd asked in a louder tone. Lyra guessed he was looking at Kai.

"Don't worry," Kai whispered. Different footsteps approached them, and his tone of voice changed. "It won't hurt. That much." He laughed a horrible imitation of Chen's evil cackle.

He needs to take acting lessons, Lyra decided. That was awful. Also, what's he planning?

"Alright, first things first. Skylor!" Chen yelled.

Sky's here? She's just watching this? As her only sister and best friend is chained to the floor? Lyra felt like she'd been shot in the heart. All just for Chen?

"I offer my power to you, Father," Skylor's unmistakable voice said, monotone.

A moment later, she gasped in pain. Lyra heard her fall to the ground.

"Stop it!" Lyra yelled. "Get away from her!"

"Only one can remain," Chen reminded them in a sing-song voice. "Plus, she wants this. She's a good daughter, unlike you. And now, for the final Elements!"

He stepped towards them, his heavy shoes making a clunk with each footstep. Lyra heard Lloyd cry out, and she shook in her chains, trying to get out, to help, to do anything.

"Stop, you absolute bitch!" she yelled.

Everything around her quieted. Even the servants' chanting stopped. Lloyd collapsed onto the ground beside Lyra, his breathing shallow.

"What did you just call me?" Chen's voice reminded Lyra of a snake. It was quiet but dangerous. Deadly, even.

Oopsies. Lyra feared she'd made a mistake. Well, no backing out now. If I'm gonna die now, may as well take the chance to annoy someone before I do. A type of revenge for, you know, killing me. I can go out with a bang. Probably literally, with all the Elements he has control over right now.

Lyra stuck her chin out. "You're a fucking bitch who has the maturity levels of a six-year-old, and I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner."

"Lyra!" Skylor warned, but it was too late.

Chen slapped her. Lyra's head flew to the side, her neck and shoulders wrenching as they followed suit. She hissed in pain, realizing she accidentally bit her tongue in the process. She could already taste the metallic pool of blood building up in her mouth.

"HEY!" Lloyd yelled. Lyra heard his chains rattle loudly, as if he was trying to pull them out of the ground. "DON'T DO THAT!"

Lyra didn't even flinch. She glared at the general area where Chen's laboured breathing came from. "Real mature," she deadpanned. "You don't even have impulse control. You know, I feel bad for my mother. How you managed to get her to marry you, I have no idea. It probably involved Clouse's magic, because there's no way in hell anyone would ever love you by choice."

"I AM YOUR FATHER!" Chen shrieked. "YOU WILL NOT SPEAK LIKE THAT TO ME! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Sorry, what was that?" Lyra cocked her head to the side. "You were too quiet. You really need to speak up."

She winced as he hit her again, this time on the other side of her face, and with something that definitely wasn't a hand. It was most likely the staff. It felt weirdly warm, almost friendly, even though it stung. "HOW DARE YOU?" Chen was so out of control, it was kind of funny. "I am your FATHER! I RAISED YOU! I COULD'VE ABANDONED YOU ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BUT I FED YOU AND KEPT YOU SAFE, WITH A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD, FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!"

"If you're not already planning on doing that, don't have a child!" Lyra yelled. The place where he'd hit her with the staff was tingling already. The feeling spread to the rest of her body. It kinda reminded her of the time she laid down on her arm and it fell asleep. Sort of like T.V. static. "I don't owe you anything! You've done nothing for my benefit that isn't the bare minimum, and, most of the time, you didn't even meet the bare minimum! Parents aren't supposed to hit their children! They aren't supposed to tell them they're weak, that they're worthless! They aren't supposed to tell their TEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER THAT SHE'S SO PATHETIC, HER SISTER'S POWER DOESN'T EVEN CARE ABOUT HER OWN BECAUSE IT'S JUST THAT WEAK! PARENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO LOVE AND SUPPORT THEIR CHILDREN! YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER, BECAUSE YOU'VE NEVER ONCE ACTED LIKE ONE!"

After her outburst, there was pure, unfiltered silence. The only sounds that could be heard were Lyra and Chen's heavy breathing as they glared at each other.

Lyra's hands were warm. She looked down at them, surprised to see colour. They were surrounded by tiny, glowing particles, a rainbow of every shade imaginable, with the brightest ones most definitely being purple. She glanced up, as shocked to see Chen as he was to see her hands.

Lyra slowly stood up, eyebrows raising as the chains surrounding her wrists turned into tiny, insignificant pieces of vengestone.

She coolly observed everyone's expressions, noting how she could only see in black and white. She instinctively raised her arms and stretched her fingers out, and the entire room was bathed in colour.

Lyra blinked a couple of times as her vision fully returned. She frowned, realizing everything was a shade brighter than usual. She flexed her fingers, and her hands tingled. Colour flooded into her fingertips, looking like tiny particles of paint. The room looked back to normal, though, and it wasn't like the process hurt, so Lyra didn't care.

Guess Garmadon was right about my power, she absent-mindedly thought.

She turned back to her father, who was scrambling back. With a crash, he fell off the stage. Lyra gracefully leaped towards him, smoothly landing with one foot on his chest and the other on the solid ground.

"Skylor! Help!" Chen cried.

Skylor immediately ran toward the two. She took out the Jade Blade that Lyra had been holding earlier, then turned it around so she was holding the blade side. She offered it to her sister, who grabbed the hilt with a grin.

"You also betray me?" Chen asked. He rolled away and stood up, his staff still in hand.

"Runs in the family," Skylor shrugged, taking up a fighting stance. "It must be your genetics or something."

The two sisters jumped in sync and kicked their father in the chest. He fell to the ground, landing on his back and dropping the staff. Kai ran to grab it. Lyra found herself almost following him, then remembered her father existed and turned back to him.

"Get him!" Chen yelled.

The guards, who'd previously been staying as far away from Lyra as possible, obviously not sure what to do about her glowing hands, seemed to remember they had a job to do. They rushed at Kai, who simply zapped them with electricity from the staff.

Lyra ran over to Lloyd and used her power to break both of his chains.

"That was all an act?" he looked at Kai.

"Don't worry," Kai smirked. "I had it all under control."

"And by that, you mean that we would've all been dead by now if not for me, correct?" Lyra clarified as she spun and punched a guard in the face. His skull helmet turned black where she touched it, and he crumpled to the ground. "Whoa."

Clouse tried to attack Lloyd, but Kai used his Energy Element to shield him and then froze the sorcerer in a block of ice.

Eyezor, the strongest guard, ran at him, but a trapdoor opened beneath him and he fell.

Lyra's eyes drifted to Skylor, who was holding onto a lever she'd obviously just pulled. The Master of Amber sent Kai a thumbs up. In return, Kai winked at her.

Lyra grinned as Skylor's ears turned bright red.

Just then, she felt a huge pulse of power. She turned to Kai, who looked just like he had before, but something about his general aura was just...off.

Lyra didn't know how she could sense that, but she didn't question it, just like how she didn't question how her hands were glowing and how she'd broken through vengestone.

"Kai, destroy the staff!" she ordered.

Kai shook his head. His aura darkened even more. "Chen was right. This thing's awesome!" His eyes turned red.

He shot different elements at the guards, who scrambled to escape. Lyra slowly approached him, sheathing her dagger and holding her still-glowing hands up defensively. The particles of her power wound in between her fingers, now a tame shade of violet.

"Kai, it holds too much power!" Lloyd yelled. "Destroy it!"

Kai's eyes flickered from red to brown. His aura flickered with him.

"The power is corrupting him!" Lyra shouted. "If we don't get that staff out of his hands--"

"No one is taking my staff!" Kai raged. His irises were bloodred. "You had all the power. Now it's my turn!"
He panted, irises brown again. "What's happening?"
"Nothing I don't already feel!" He yelled with red eyes.

"Yes, yes," Chen encouraged from the other side of the stage. "Embrace the power!"

"I can't--I can't control it!" Good Kai panicked.
"And I don't want to!" Bad Kai said. "I should've been the Green Ninja!"

He turned on Lloyd, green energy forming at the top of the staff. Lyra sprinted until she was in between the two. She made her hands glow more, so bright Kai was forced to look away.

The snake statue above them cracked and then fell to the ground. Everyone jumped out of its way, Lyra taking the opportunity to tackle Kai. The staff went flying out of his hands and landed a few feet away from both of them.

She stood up and then offered her hand to help Kai stand up. He took it, and they watched as all the Elemental Masters--dressed in factory workers' clothing--jumped out of a freaking jet and quickly overpowered the guards.

"Did anyone order some kung pao?" Cole asked, still flying the jet.

It's not every day you see the Elemental Master of Earth flying a jet underground, Lyra thought.

A boy with titanium skin spun his head around to face behind him. He punched the guard behind him, then spun his head to punch the one in front of him. He grabbed him, then rolled him like a bowling ball. The poor guard crashed into ten others. They landed in a pile, groaning.

Strike, Lyra grinned.

"Zane!" Lloyd cheered, hugging the boy. "Good to see you again, buddy!"

Zane rotated his wrist 360 degrees. "And it's good to be back!"

I forgot he was a robot...nindroid...thing, Lyra thought. Interesting.

She turned and saw her father racing toward the staff. She leaped in his direction, using all of her dance training--and a bit of whatever her power was--to cross the 20 feet in an instant, reaching the staff a second before him. She ducked and rolled under his arm, then smashed the staff into the ground.

"No!" Chen shrieked, holding out a hand as if to stop her, even though he was a couple of yards away.

The shattered crystal glowed, then the powers burst from it, each one returning to their respective Elemental Master.

Lyra's eyebrows furrowed as a bit of bright purple power made its way to her, too. She felt a rush of power as if she'd just drunk 10 energy drinks. He never stole my power, though. Right?

That didn't matter, though, because the ninja all pulled their masks on and yelled, "Ninja, go!"

Time slowed again. They each spun in a circle, performing an intricate dance . Each one was a bit different, especially with the colour, representing their separate powers. They were each quite similar, too, representing that they were a team. Lyra studied them, watching as their powers whirled around them, beautiful tornadoes of pure Elemental Power. She was captivated as she stared at Lloyd. He looked almost peaceful as he concentrated. His dance--his beautiful presentation of Spinjitzu--was even more entrancing than his eyes, which were glowing a few shades brighter than usual.

"What are you doing?" Nya asked her, watching in awe.

Lyra's gaze was torn from the ninja. In her peripheral vision, she saw glowing strands of ultraviolet purple fall to the ground around her and disappear. "What?"

"Your...your power. It was spinning around you." Nya pointed to her hands, which were now only glowing a bright violet colour. "When I asked you about it, all of it returned to your hands."

"I don't know what that was," Lyra answered truthfully.

"But I do," Garmadon spoke up. Lyra hadn't seen him there previously.

Lyra turned and saw that Chen, Clouse, and most of the guards had disappeared. The rest were unconscious and strewn about the ground.

"It was the start of your true potential, Lyra," he continued. "The first stage of it, that is. It's around the amount of power you would have had when you first gained control of your Element, if not for Chen."

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked, moving until he was next to Lyra.

"When everyone's powers returned, a bit went back to her, too, even though Chen didn't take her power today," his father explained. "He must've taken that aspect of it when she first gained her power. He took quite a bit of it, along with a whole form of Art or two."

"There's another form of Art?" Lyra asked. "I thought there were only seven."

"There are quite a few more than that," Garmadon chuckled. "He managed to take most of your Elemental Power, along with the strongest form of Art. When he held his staff so close to you, a part of it must've returned, instantly making you reach the first stage of your true potential."

"She has different stages?" Jay asked.

"There's a strongest form of Art?" Lyra wondered. "I thought they were all equal."

"Is anyone else confused?" Neuro asked, looking around to see if anyone felt the same way as him. "I thought she was an Elemental Master of Sound."

Garmadon ignored everyone. "When one first reaches their true potential, or, in your case, a stage of their true potential, they can do almost anything, which is why you were able to turn the vengestone chains into dust. Usually, vengestone represses powers."

"Wait, what's the form of Art that Chen stole?" Lyra asked. Her head was spinning, and her vision had blurred again. It wasn't as bad as before, though, so it didn't concern her.

"Why, the Art of Spinjitzu, of course."

Rooollllll the credits.

But in all seriousness, I had a lot of fun writing this.

Word count: 7.3k (oml I need to get a life) (also sorry Midnight if this hurt your eyes)

TW Recap: Lyra couldn't see at all, Chen steals everyone's powers except hers, her hands start glowing and she can see again, Lyra realizes she can see again, she attacks Chen alongside Skylor and frees Lloyd, Kai gets hold of the staff and turns evil, the Elemental Masters appear and save the day, Lyra breaks the staff, some power from it transfers to her and the rest to the other Elemental Masters, the ninja do Spinjitzu and she watches Lloyd with heart-eyes, her power--which is purple--circles around her as she watches them, then stops when Nya asks her what she was doing, Garmadon explains that Chen stole most of her power from her when she first gained the power of Art, including taking the Art of Spinjitzu. (If I missed anything major in this recap, please tell me).

QOTD: What's your favourite type of sandwich? If you don't like sandwiches, what's your favourite dessert? If you don't like either, you're out of luck because I don't feel like thinking of another type of food.

A: Chicken salad sandwich, 100%. It makes me feel full plus it tastes SO GOOD.

Please do comment and vote because it really does help with motivation and motivation=frequent updates

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

~Aspen