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“You know, I bet if you just went up to her and asked her out, she’d say yes,”
Ray would laugh, if he wasn't currently spitting blood out of his mouth, “That easy, huh?”
Lilly shrugged, handing him a glass of water, “I mean… yeah, kinda. Most girls like a guy who’s confident,” she thought for a moment, “But don't go up to her all like, ‘Hey baby, I know you’re into me. So why don’t we get out of here?’ Then that’s just douchey.”
“So… Be confident, but not too confident?” he asked, washing his mouth out.
“Exactly!”
“I’d rather just stay here,”
Lilly rolled her eyes, “You’re killin’ me, Ray! It was funny to watch you make a fool of yourself at first, but now it's just sad…”
It’s not his fault he doesn’t know how to talk to girls. He’s never really been interested in dating before. Always been more worried about getting food on his table.
But now he doesn’t have to worry so much. Now, he has stability. Well, as stable as it gets when pirates are invading the land around you.
The point is, now he can afford distractions, at least a little bit. And, damn, Maya sure can be distracting.
It wasn’t immediate, falling for her.
He was too busy trying to figure out his powers, one wrong move and he could burn the place to the ground. Not stressful at all, no…
Of course, he found it weird that, if Maya happened to pass by him during training, what flame he had mustered would fizzle out. But he just equated that to her being the master of water. Their elements are near polar opposites, whatever aura she has must counteract his own, right? Right?
And Ray blatantly ignored the fact that his hand would stutter if it happened to brush hers at the dinner table. He was just fritzy, Lib seemed to find joy in shocking him, it was the aftereffects of that.
And no one can tell him his face is turning red! He’s the master of fire! He’s always hot! She has nothing to do with it!
No, it wasn’t until he caught sight of Maya, sitting at the edge of the courtyard watching him spar, that he finally admitted that he was fucked.
The elbow he took to the jaw might’ve knocked some sense into him.
“You’re lucky you just lost a tooth,” Lilly crossed her arms, “I could’ve done worse.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Ray ducked his head in embarrassment, pressing an ice pack further into his cheek, “Thank you for holding back.”
“So…?” she looked at him expectantly.
“So?”
“SO… You need to nip this thing in the bud and ask her out already!” Lilly scowled at him, “You’re going to get yourself killed. And if you don’t, then I might kill you.”
“Then kill me now,” Ray threw his arms out, “Seems easier than talking to Maya.”
“I don’t get you,” she shook her head, “You’ve talked to her plenty of times before. What’s so different now?”
Now I have to face the reality that I like this girl, he thought.
“It’s easy for you,” he retorted, “I mean, Lou was the one who asked you out, wasn’t he?”
“No, actually,” she put her hands on her hips with a smug look on her face, “Despite being a total theater kid, Lou was incredibly shy. I knew if I didn’t ask him out, we’d get nowhere. So, HA!”
“Everyone likes you, Lilly,” he glared at her, “There’s no way he would’ve denied you.”
“Ray, I’m being as nice as possible when I say this,” she put a hand on his shoulder, “You are… so stupid.”
“Thanks, Lil! You’re such a great sister,” he said sarcastically.
“The best actually,” she smiled, “And as your sister, I’m going to get you two together because it's becoming a hazard at this point.”
“We don’t even know if Maya likes me,” he argued.
“Like I said, you’re stupid…”
“Hey!”
“Wow… You’re so hopeless,”
Maya looked up at Libber, “What? I’m not even doing anything!”
“Exactly!” Libber pointed at her, “Aw Libby, can’t you come out and sit with me while I study? I could use the fresh air and I want some company!” she said, mocking Maya’s voice.
“I don’t sound like that!”
“And you don’t look like you’re studying either!”
Maya scoffed, “How would you know what studying looked like? You were a straight C student!”
“I know you have to actually look at the scroll you’re reading,” she retorted, “Seems to me, you’re more interested in studying that subject over there.” She gestured across the courtyard with a shake of her head.
Ray and Lilly were in the middle of training, Ray and Lilly always trained together. They were close like that. It was admirable. Maya would do the same with Libber, if only she didn’t get on her nerves so much.
Besides, she’s been stuck indoors for too long and the library walls are boring her to death. She can’t help it if they decide to train when Maya wants to go outside.
Lilly liked the outdoors too, it was just a coincidence. That’s all it was…
Just a coincidence.
“Ray just ate the concrete! I just got distracted, is all.”
“Oh yeah, I bet,” Libber laughed, “He’s a blacksmith and all. I can only imagine-”
“You shouldn’t talk about our brother like that!” Maya cut her off.
“Ew, don’t call him our brother,” Libber recoiled, “It makes your crush on him gross.”
“I don’t have a crush on him!”
“And Wu doesn’t have a tea addiction,”
“I have much more important things to be thinking about, right now,” Maya flattened the scroll in front of her, “Like what's the point of me being here, if I can't control my powers? Do I even have them? Did it skip a generation?”
“Whatever,” Libber scoffed, leaning on Maya's side, “Fine. Repress your feelings. It's probably for the best.”
Maya rolled her eyes, “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah, it's totally star-crossed,”
“I'm willing to bet money you don't even know what that phrase means,”
“It means you're both hopeless,”
“Wrong.”
“Am I?” Libber pointed at the two of them, “How much you wanna bet Ray's actually into Lilly?”
“What?”
“Oh, come on! I know you're in denial, but you gotta see it too.”
“There's nothing to see,” Maya argued, “They're friends and Lilly has a boyfriend.”
“Sure, but you can't help your feelings,” Libber shrugged, “And I bet Ray is feelin’ awful close to Lilly.”
Maya rolled her eyes, “What do you know?”
“I know that they spend more time together than they do with anyone else.”
Maya glared at her, but couldn't help the knot twisting in her stomach.
“Fine,” Libber threw her hands up, “But don't blame me when you get all heartbroken because Ray loves someone else.”
“Oh hush, you,”
“Who knows,” Libber rested her head on Maya's shoulder, “Maybe there's someone who is hopelessly in love with you, but you don't know because you're so distracted by-”
“My duty,”
“Sure, let's call it that,” Libber rolled her eyes, “It's a horrible chain of pining. All you gotta do is look back and…”
Libber faltered seeing the smug look on Maya's face.
“I didn't know you felt that way about me, Lib,”
Libber flushed, “O-Okay. NOT what I meant,”
“Sounded like it,”
“I KNOW WHAT IT SOUNDED LIKE!”
Maya couldn't keep laughing at her, for the knocker on the monastery gate banged. Maya got up to answer it.
Pulling open the heavy gate a crack, she peeked outside. Libber peeked over her shoulder.
A young man stood there, he couldn't have been older than them, with a bouquet of daisies in his hand.
“For me?” Libber exclaimed, “You shouldn't have! But also keep doing it.”
“Uh… no,” he furrowed his brow, “They're for Lilly.”
“Who are you?” Maya asked.
“Lou Brookstone,” he answered, “Lilly's here, right.”
It was Lilly's boyfriend. Maya pulled open the gate, saying, “Yeah, she's here. Ignore Libber and come on-”
A squeal cut her off from saying ‘in’ as Lilly ran forward, embracing her boyfriend.
“Lilly, you can't just scream out,” Ray walked up behind them, “It puts the old geezers on edge.”
Lilly paid him no mind. Lou was there! She didn't care about anything else.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling back, only to see the ruined bouquet in his hands, “No!” she cried.
“I wanted to surprise you,” he murmured, “But I guess you should've expected that.”
“I'll save them, I promise!”
“I don't think you can save that,” Ray said, looking at the damaged flowers.
“Don't tell me what I can do Ray!” she took the bouquet from Lou, holding it close to her chest.
She turned back to Lou, “You know I love seeing you, but you shouldn't be traveling,” she chided, “It's too dangerous.”
“It's worth it,” he smiled, “I heard that the trade routes had been quiet lately and I wanted to see you so…”
Lilly scrunched her nose, trying to keep her inner bubbling affection at bay. “I'm supposed to be mad at you… but I'm choosing not to be. Just don't do it again,” she pleaded, “I'd like to keep you in one piece.”
“Okay, Lilly” Lou laughed.
“So this is Lou,” Ray stepped forward to shake his hand, “I'm Ray. We've heard a lot about you.”
“Good things, I hope,”
“No, they were horrible,” Libber chimed in, “Just the worst. You'll never recover.”
“You must be Libber,” Lou frowned.
“Guilty,” she shook his hand.
“And I'm Maya. It's nice to finally meet you.”
“Same to you,” Lou replied.
“How's the guys? And practice? You getting any gigs yet or-” Lilly asked, trailing off so Lou could actually answer.
“They're fine. And practice is fine. And no, we don't even have a name yet.”
“I can't believe the one thing holding you back is a name,”
“A name for what?” Ray asked.
“For his troupe,” Lilly answered, “Lou's gonna be famous one day.”
Lou covered his face with his hand, “You think too highly of me, Lilly.”
“Give yourself more credit,” she pouted.
She took his hand, pulling him away, “Come on! I'll put these up and then you're gonna tell me everything goin’ on with Lou Brookstone!”
“There isn't anything going on,” he smiled, letting himself get led away.
“Well…” Ray said, looking at the other two left behind with him, “I should put this up.” He held up the ice pack in his hands.
“I saw that earlier,” Maya said, “You okay?”
“Yeah! Yeah… I'm fine,” Ray looked away, moving to leave, “Uh… see ya!”
Maya's shoulders fell a little. She chewed her lip and started walking back to the scroll she left behind.
“See how heartbroken he was?” Libber said beside her.
“No,” Maya glared at her.
“Oh, please!” Libber rolled her eyes, “He couldn't wait to get out of here!”
“Because he has a melting ice pack in his hands,”
“Because he can't go to Lilly anymore!” she argued, “Didn't you see him get onto her?”
“Yeah, because she screamed and we live with people who get literal war flashbacks. Screaming might trigger something,” Maya reminded her.
“This is your chance to get in there!” Libber threw her hands out, “You can't pass this up!”
“So in your mind, and it is just your mind because you're delusional. But in your mind, Ray is depressed because Lilly's boyfriend came over and you want me to go comfort and emotionally manipulate him into liking me.”
Libber faltered for a moment, “Well… it sounds bad when you say it like that!”
“That's because it is bad!”
The two continued to bicker as Wu walked out of the monastery to the gate.
“What’s wrong, sir?” Maya called over to him.
“One moment,” Wu held a hand up to them, waiting by the gate for a moment.
Suddenly he opened it up, the mailman stood there with his hand hovering in the air like he was about to knock.
“How do you do that?” he asked, breathless from climbing the stairs.
“I know things,” Wu smiled, took the mail and gave him a tip, before sending him on his way.
Wu walked over to Maya and Libber, “Maya, here’s from your grandparents,” he said, handing her an envelope and giving two to Libber, “Libber, here's from your mother. And would one of you take this to Lilly. I have to look over these.” He held up the remaining envelopes in his hand.
“Yes, master,” Maya said, looking at the second envelope in Libber's hands. It was from Lilly's parents. Maya felt like she should've expected that.
“Thank you,” he bowed to them, before returning inside.
“Alright, you or me?” Libber asked.
“I'm studying,” Maya said, opening the letter from her grandmother, “You clearly have nothing better to do.”
“Fine,” Libber grumbled, standing up to go find Lilly.
She did not find her in her room, which Libber was grateful for.
No, she found Lilly and Lou in the library with a large stack of books and her bouquet on the table.
“What’cha talkin’ about?” Libber asked from the door with a smirk on her face.
“Nunya,” Lilly retorted.
“You guys are so mean to me,” Libber pouted, entering fully to hand Lilly her mail.
Lilly took one glance at the envelope and tossed it to the side of the table. “Sorry, but I'd rather be left alone with my boyfriend,” Lilly gestured to Lou right next to her.
“Fine. I get it. I'm leaving,” she threw her hands up, turning back to the door.
Raine appeared in the hallway, making his way inside.
“Don't bother going in, Rainey,” she stopped him.
“Stop calling me that,” he grumbled.
“Stop being a grump,” she scrunched her nose at him, "Stop Raine-ing on everyone's parade."
“Raine can come in,” Lilly called from the library.
“What the!” Libber whipped around, “No fair!”
“He minds his own business,” Lilly retorted, “You could learn a thing or two from ‘em.”
Raine shook his head and made his way inside. Libber grumbled all the way back to Maya.
It wasn't long after that when Wu called them all for a meeting. That's what normally happened after he got the mail. He would tell them of any news from Garmadon or from the city.
Most of it would be minor, but there were days where they'd end the meeting gearing up to go on a mission.
“I received another response from Garmadon,” Wu sighed.
His brother had been traveling across Ninjago, trying to find the rest of the members of the elemental alliance. There hadn't been much luck so far and judging from Wu’s sigh, there still wasn't good news.
“The master of poison has declined our offer to return.”
“That's… understandable,” Raine mumbled.
“He's moving on and hopes to find the master of shadow next.”
It felt it would be an eternity until they had an actual army. Would anyone ever come?
“Do not lose hope,” Wu continued, “Our alliance has held strong for years. Few circumstances could tear it apart.”
Is this one of them? The question went unspoken, but it rested at the back of the young masters’ minds. They need an army, yet all they have are seven people.
“We need to focus on the task at hand. Ships were spotted on the northern coast,” Wu explained, “Only to disappear near the cliff side.”
“You think they're hiding out in the cliffs?” Lilly asked.
“Seems most likely,” he nodded, “They've likely docked and are hiding in a cave system inside. Anything could be down there and it's too close to the city.
If you can't apprehend them all, then force them back to the sea,” he instructed, “Do not put yourself at risk trying to stop them. We'll worry about that once reinforcements come.
Lilly, you will be most in your element there,” Wu turned to the girl, “Would you be willing to take the lead with Raine?”
“Leave it to me,” she nodded.
“He never asks me to lead a mission,” Libber pouted.
“That’s because you’re delusional,” Maya retorted. Ray let out a snort.
“You must proceed with caution,” Wu warned, “We’ve no idea what is under there.”
“Understood,” Raine turned to the door, “Let’s get going.”
“Wait. Can Lou stay here?” Lilly asked Wu, “I don’t want him going home alone.”
“Of course,” he smiled and sent them on their way.
Lou wasn't too pleased with the situation. He had only just got there and Lilly was leaving?
“We shouldn't be gone for more than a night,” she explained.
“I didn't pack to stay a night, Lilly.”
“Raid my closet,” Ray offered, “I don't care.”
“Would that be okay?” Lilly asked.
Lou's shoulders fell, “I guess…”
“Thank you, Ray,” Lilly said, giving him a side hug.
“You're such a good friend, Ray,” Maya commented, side-eyeing Libber.
Ray ducked his head, “It's no problem.”
“We'll be right back,” Lilly took Lou's hands, “Okay? I promise.”
“Okay, Lilly,” Lou sighed, “I love you.”
Lilly smiled and squeezed his hands, “I love you, too.” She bent down to kiss his forehead.
The five of them waved goodbye and made their way down the endless steps of the monastery.
It took them half a day to make it to the cliffs, the sun was just starting to set as they made their way into a small cave entrance.
Ray lit up the place with a flick of his wrist, walking beside Lilly to lead the way. They traveled at downward angle, deeper and deeper into the cave.
“Are we sure this is the right place?” Libber asked, after mere minutes. She had the attention span of a fly, “Looks pretty empty to me.”
“Maybe they caught wind we were after them,” Maya thought aloud, “And took off.”
“These cliffs have tunnels going off in all directions,” Raine said, “They're much larger than they seem.”
“And unstable,” Lilly commented idly, “I can feel the vibrations.”
“I feel like that's a bad thing…” Ray frowned.
“Ooh! I know,” Libber piped up, “What if we destroyed all the entrances and trapped them in here?”
Maya furrowed her brow at her, “You want to commit murder?”
“It's not murder,” she defended.
“Lib, it's murder,” Ray looked back at her.
“It's not murder!” she argued, “It's just keeping them here until we come back with a patty wagon or something.”
“You said we'd destroy the entrances,” Maya argued back, “How do you expect to get them?”
Libber didn't have an answer for that, opening her mouth only to close it back again.
“Whatever,” she grumbled.
“This is why you never lead,” Maya shook her head.
Lilly stopped suddenly. “We shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.
“What is it?”
“Vengestone. A lot of it.”
“What? What’s vengestone?” Maya asked.
“An elemental master’s greatest weakness,” Raine answered, “It completely negates our powers.”
“Well, I’m already powerless, so…”
Raine looked to Lilly, “How could you tell?”
She chewed the inside of her cheek, brow furrowing, “Papa.”
“Your dad?” Ray questioned, “You never talk about him.”
“Nothing to talk about,” she glanced at Raine, before slowly moving forward, “But the one lesson Papa gave me before I left was how to sense vengestone. So I wouldn’t get caught off guard like he was.”
“I didn’t realize you had that ability,” Raine said.
“Vengestone is still part of the earth,” she answered, “It is part of my element. At least a little bit. Papa didn’t figure it out until after the war.”
“That would certainly have been useful,” he mumbled.
“It is,” she straightened herself, “Because now we know what’s down here. They’re mining vengestone to try and get the upper hand on us.”
“Vengestone is rare in Ninjago,” Raine shook his head, “All of the deposits were supposed to be monitored.”
“Guess they missed one,” Maya shrugged, “At least we can stop them from getting it. And close it off for good.”
“Put the light out, Ray,” Lilly commanded. She motioned for them to stop, creeping forward by herself.
The tunnel they were in peaked out into a bigger cave. She looked downward to see a large number of people moving in and out of the caves, carts and digging appliances in hand.
Four stood at the center. Two pirates and two hooded figures she couldn't recognize.
A man ran out of one tunnel straight to them, something wrapped in cloth in his hands. He showed it to his captain, who turned to the robed figures.
Lilly waved for the others to come behind her, if only so they could see as well.
“This it?” the captain questioned, opening the rag to reveal a rock with bright yellow markings.
“Not too close, please,” the fist robed person said, a heavily accented voice came from behind the hood, “Yes. You can recognize it from its color.”
“This pebble can take the lot of 'em out?”
“If used correctly,” she replied, “The master recommends fashioning them into weapons.”
“That accent…” Lilly murmured, “Does anyone recognize it?”
“She’s from Metalonia,” Raine answered.
“So… does that mean she’s the master of metal?” Ray asked.
“Wow, Ray,” Libber feigned being offended, “How culturally insensitive of you! Just ‘cause she’s from Metalonia, doesn’t mean she’s the master of metal!”
“Alright, clearly this isn’t a safe space to ask questions,” he glared at her, “I’ll just shut up now…”
“Your master seems awful helpful,” the captain looked at them suspiciously.
“The end of the alliance benefits both of us,” she responded, “Without them, the master can return to Ninjago uninterrupted. All he asks is you not kill them, yet.”
The captain scoffed, “Yeah? I make no promises. What's gonna stop me from killin’ you right now and walkin’ away with all this?”
“Our contract will be void,” she responded coldly, “And I will end you. Slowly and painfully.”
“Well then, why don't you take care of that alliance yourself, if it's so easy for ya?”
“I cannot use the stones. It is more beneficial for us to work together. But I will do away with you if I need to.”
“So, she is an elemental master,” Raine whispered.
“Any idea what?” Maya asked.
“No…”
That means it could be anyone under that hood. Any of the masters they're requesting aid from could be a traitor.
“Who from the war was from Metalonia?” Lilly asked Raine.
“People came from all over-”
“Elemental masters.”
“Just Karina,” he shook his head, “But she wouldn't do this. She has a family.”
“That's never stopped people before,” Ray whispered.
“Take as much as you need,” the hooded woman continued, “We must return. You know where to find us if you wish to continue doing business.”
“Yeah, sure,” the captain snarled. Whatever truce they had was shaky as best. That's good.
“We can't let her leave,” Lilly swallowed, watching as the woman and her comrade moved to leave through a large cave opening.
“Remember what Wu said,” Maya warned, “Don't push yourself. We'll get her.”
“She could be a traitor,” Lilly shook her head, “We at least have to figure out who she is.”
She looked to Raine, “You with me?”
“Stay together,” he replied, “We don't know how many men are in these tunnels.”
“Understood,” she looked to the others. Ray readied his sword, Libber tested the lightning between her fingers, Maya pulled the bo staff from her back.
“Monitor your powers,” she warned, “You could lose it at a moment's notice if you get too close.”
The others nodded. Lilly steadied the shake in her nerves and jumped from their hiding spot.
Raine went straight for the captain. Libber took on his second in command. Maya fought off straggling men from the edge of the cave. Lilly went after the woman, Ray followed close behind her.
The ground gave a fierce quake as she landed. Everyone fought to stay standing, dust and small rocks fell from the ceiling.
The woman looked back at her with surprise, Lilly could now more clearly see dark locks spilling out from her hood.
She smiled at her as she sent her henchman after Ray, the cloak falling from his shoulders, revealing armor made of bone.
“I was wondering how long it would take for us to meet in battle,” she said, “Wu’s soldiers are troubling.”
“You know Master Wu?” Lilly questioned.
“No,” she answered nonchalantly, pulling out her own blade, “Just that he's a pain in my rear.”
Lilly lunged forward, swords clanging against her opponent’s.
“You don't want to do this, little lamb,” the woman cooed, “I assure you, this will only lead to death.”
“Who are you?”
“Someone to be feared,” she sneered, whipping around to Lilly's back side and pushing her forward.
“Thank you,” she chuckled.
Lilly swept around, swinging at her.
As their swords met, she jerked her elbow, hoping to land a blow much worse than the one she gave Ray.
But the woman caught it, pushing back with strength that mirrored her own.
“How-”
The woman laughed as she twisted Lilly's arm, forcing her to turn around and land on her knees.
“Aww, you're shaking,” she taunted, twisting Lilly’s arm further behind her back, “Does the little lamb want to run home to her papa?”
“What do you know of my father?” Lilly rasped.
“I remember the weak man's screams as he begged for death,” she laughed, “I will show you how.”
She threw Lilly forward. Lilly rolled a bit before quickly pulling herself up. She didn't get any more time to steady herself as a large rock was sent flying at her.
Lilly reacted on instinct, throwing her arms up to cover her face. The rock shattered against her.
She could barely take a breath as more was sent her way. Lilly tried redirecting them towards the different tunnel entrances. Still, she couldn't deter them all and rocks slammed against her. Her vision blacked out for a moment.
She was allowed a moment to breathe, Lilly blinked up at the woman who was readying more rock with a flick of her wrist.
Why did it feel like she could control the earth better than Lilly could.
Lilly dodged as well as she could, catching a boulder and sending it flying back.
The woman moved out of the way, calm as ever.
Lilly heaved before her.
“It is fun to see the fear in your eye, little lamb,” she taunted, sending two more boulders her way, “Reminds me so much of your papa.
But I have a few more toys I wish to play with.” she chuckled, turning away to send an onslaught of rock hurtling towards Lilly.
Who did she think she was just walking away!? Lilly redirected the debris, barely hearing her name being called over the cracking of stone.
She felt heat at her back. Turning slightly, she saw Ray right behind her, melting a pirate's sword that would have found its way into her spine.
She looked at him, speaking breathlessly, “How… How did you do that?”
Ray knocked the offending pirate unconscious with the hilt of his sword. “Helps when you know the melting point of metal.”
“Blacksmith for the win.” she heaved.
Lilly looked around, the bone man Ray had been fighting was incapacitated on the ground. Maya was quickly being overwhelmed by incoming fighters. She ran with Ray to help her, but instead caught sight of Libber and Raine.
The pirate captain and his first mate were standing back to back, closed in by Libber's volts of electricity and Raine’s ice. The captain kept them at a distance with the piece of vengestone in his hand, their power fizzling when he turned it towards them.
While he turned toward Raine, Libber seized the opportunity to lunge at them, hoping to give a shock that would knock them out instantly.
“She says make it a weapon!” the captain shouted, “Then use it as a weapon!”
As Libber made contact with the first mate, the captain veered around, cracking the rock onto the side of her head.
“LIB!”
Libber stumbled backwards, eyes unfocusing. A stream of blood poured from her temple, her lightning completely unresponsive.
Libber fell backwards into a pair of arms, she struggled slightly as her head caught up with what was happening and she realized who was holding her.
“Shh, little one,” the hooded woman said gently, moving the hair from Libber's bloody face, “I won't hurt you yet. I just need one thing.”
“Get away from her!” Lilly commanded, running to attack.
“Take her,” the woman said, practically dropping Libber on top of her, volts of lightning shooting from her fingertips.
“Lib!” Lilly cried, “Are you okay?!”
Libber flinched at the shouting in her ears, blinking heavily, “Lil…ly?”
“It's okay,” she nodded, “I got’chu.”
“...What happened?”
Lilly didn't get to answer. The pirate captain lunged at what he considered vulnerable prey.
She parried his sword with a protective fire in her eyes. Even the vengestone in his hand wouldn't deter her.
“Stay here,” she told Libber, setting her on the floor, “And stay conscious!”
“...What?”
Raine shouldn't have let them fight. As the eldest, he should've known better than to run in blind. Especially against an elemental master.
He doesn't recognize the element, but it's far more dangerous than most he's seen.
This woman could control both earth and lightning. It didn't make any sense, there can't be two masters of the same element. Not only that, but controlling multiple elements was nearly unheard of.
“I'm glad to face you finally,” the woman said calmly.
“You don't know me,” he growled.
“Oh, but I do,” The cave rumbled. She launched a boulder at him, he conjured an ice hammer to deflect the incoming projectile, “I saw in the minds of weak men.”
That's impossible! She can’t read minds! Raine knew the telepathic master personally!
But their war plans had been leaked and no traitor was found. What if there was no traitor at all? But someone who somehow had mastered multiple elements.
How many elements can she control?
“But Wu so loves to send children to battle,” she continued, “One would think you are, how you say, past prime?”
“You don't know a damn thing about Wu,” he shouted, “Or me!”
“Oh, come now,” she smirked, “You and I were both little ones in the war. You really want these little ones fighting losing battles for you.”
Raine scowled, sending ice projectiles flying at her. She narrowly dodged out of the way, a mad smile stretched across her face, as if this was exciting to her.
“It is shame we never met on the battlefield,” she laughed, “Maybe I wouldn’t have lost my best soldier.”
Realization struck cold within him. He was so preoccupied with the fight, he didn't connect the dots together.
The war… all the soldiers that disappeared. Pallav. Amira. Chyanne. All taken prisoner, only to resurface weeks later, fighting their once allies.
“You… Are you the one who did that to Pallav?”
“I can't take full credit,” she frowned, “But I can't wait to do much the same to your little ones.”
Anger surged through him, he won't let her come close to repeating those atrocities. Especially not on the new alliance.
The cave as a whole grew colder, frost creeping up the walls and down the stalactites.
An entourage of ice was sent flying at her. He followed behind, swinging a sword he had formed.
She held him back, the full strength of an earth master supporting her.
He quickly kicked her legs from under her. Catching the front of her cloak, he held her at an arm's distance with his blade in front of her face. Ice spread across the floor to freeze her in place.
“You're not so tough when there's only one of you,”
She laughed, a cruel, heartless laugh, “I have made armies bow to me when I was a mere child. What do you do?”
“Liberate them,” he snarled, moving his blade closer to her throat.
“Heh… Soon you'll see that you can't save everyone.”
“I'll die trying,”
“Then die.”
She brought her hand up to his blade, frost covering her fingers as she shattered it in her hand.
Raine startled back, even his own element was being used against him…
“Thank you for this,” she raised her sword, “I'll put it to good use.”
And the fight continued, harder than ever.
Maya was grateful to have Ray fighting at her side, she really was.
Fighting pirates wasn't new to her. She's been in enough battles by now, she knows what she's doing. But the sheer number of them has left her overwhelmed. With each one defeated, more came crawling out of the cave system.
When Ray joined her, it took some stress off. But it wasn't enough.
The ground was quaking, ice had spread, Maya was having more of a fight to keep her footing as the seconds passed.
The pirates started throwing chunks of vengestone at them, Maya deflected as many as she could so Ray would be able to keep his fire power.
She dared to look over the cave. That was a mistake.
Libber had been incapacitated. Lilly was fighting to protect her. Raine was barely holding that woman off. And each use of their powers seemed to make the cave that much closer to collapsing in on itself.
Ray jerked her aside, closer to the wall. She has been staring too long, and nearly took a rock to the face.
“Thanks!” she yelled over the commotion.
He didn't respond, deflecting their attacker’s swords.
Another quake. The tunnels surrounding them cracked and quivered.
“We need to go!” Ray shouted.
Maya nodded, though he couldn't see it. “I can get Libber, you help Lilly?”
“Sounds like a-”
Ray was cut off by the greatest earthquake they had felt.
Maya braced herself on the wall, barely able to keep herself up. Their foes fell to the ground, but so did their friends.
Lilly leapt across the cave to drag Libber out of the way of a falling stalactite, being the only one who could keep somewhat control of herself.
Raine was on all fours, that mystery woman stood before him, laughing wickedly. Maya didn't have to take a guess, she knew that, somehow, this was her fault.
Cracks spread across the walls, the floor shifted and sunk dangerously in places.
Ray ducked for cover, while also trying to crawl somewhere safer. Maya followed behind him, yelping as a man grabbed at her legs.
She kicked at him, which was harder than it should have been due to the earthquake.
A blast of fire finally got him off, Maya looked back to see Ray had stood himself up, leaning against the cave wall.
He held his hand out to her, but just as she was about to take it, the wall he was leaning on caved and sent him flying downward into a new tunnel that had been formed.
“Ray!” Maya cried. She didn't think, before jumping in after him.
Which she kinda regrets…
Only because the cavern was more vertical than horizontal. By the time she reached the bottom, she had more than enough scrapes and bruises to last her the year.
Ray let out a grunt as she landed on top of him. Maya scrambled to get off, ignoring whatever pain she was in.
“I'm so sorry!” she cried.
“It's alright,” he wheezed, letting her help him up.
They didn't get anymore time to get their bearings as six swords were pulled in their faces.
Some stragglers from the fight glared down at them, one of which she recognized as the man who brought the first piece of vengestone.
Ray flicked his hand, but nothing came from it.
Looking around, they realized the walls pulsed with a sickly yellow.
“Shit,” he murmured.
“What do we do with’em?” one pirate asked.
The first man pulled a pair of manacles from his belt, “Leave ‘em.” he said, clamping one around Maya's wrist. Ray moved to push him back, only for his wrist to be restrained as well.
The pirate directed them to a rock that acted as a support for the cavern, forcing them to stand back to back around it and restraining their other wrists.
“If Chen wants’em so badly he can come get’em ‘imself,” the man announced, “Take as many rocks as you can! We need to leave ‘fore this whole place crashes down!”
Maya tried kicking at them, but they were too far away. She grunted in frustration at the whole situation.
The men left quickly, leaving them alone in the dark. Their only light source was the glow of vengestone, a horrible reminder of how powerless they were.
Ray tried slamming his wrist on the stone in an attempt to break the cuff, swinging Maya's arm around with it.
He gave up quickly. Both from realizing he was dragging her around with him and because he was doing more damage to his wrist than the cuff.
“You good?” Maya asked.
“No…” he huffed in frustration.
“The others will come for us,” she said hopefully, “Whoever Chen is can kiss my ass!”
Ray laughed, “Yeah. Lilly’ll probably carve a hole through this place tryin’ to find us.”
“Oh… yeah?”
“Yeah, I mean, she takes losses like this really personally,” Ray shrugged, “She won't quit, ‘til everyone's safe at home.”
“It's not a loss,” Maya smiled, “Just a minor setback. We know what we're up against and why they were here. And if Lilly brings this place down looking for us, then we know they can't get anymore vengestone from this place.”
Ray sighed, Maya could feel him sag a bit.
“Yeah, but then… we're fucked, aren't we?”
Their only saving grace was that the earthquakes had slowed. Still, vibrations could be felt every few seconds.
“No, we're not. I promise,” she reached back to nudge his hand.
“Thank you,” she continued, “for everything back there. Saved my ass.”
“Y-Yeah. Of course. Anything for you… GUYS! Anything for you guys!” he muttered something to himself that Maya couldn't discern, knocking his head on the stone behind him, “You're, like, the closest thing I've ever had to family.”
Maya hummed in response. She knew family was something Ray never really had. Another side effect of the war.
“It's nice to know you care,” she said quietly.
“Yeah, I care about you. I care about you a lot.”
“I care too,” she smiled, despite him not being able to see it, “And I'm sorry I kinda of ignore you guys back home.”
“Which is totally understandable,”
“Yeah, but…” she sighed, flexing her finger tips, “If my powers don't come, like they're not really mine, then I don't want to leave empty handed, you know? I want us all to still be friends long after this.
I guess what I'm saying is… we should hang out more.”
“Yeah, we should…”
Maya’s heart sank, maybe she misread the situation. She wasn't that close with him. Not like she was with Libber. Not like he was with Lilly.
“Listen…” Ray started, “This is a horrible time to be saying this, but I just kinda want to get it out there and it's not like we have anything better to do so…”
“What is it?”
“I just been meaning to… maybe ask if, uh…”
“Yeah?”
“You kinda beat me to it, but do you uh…want to get coffee or something?”
“Like a date?”
“Only if you want it to be!”
Maya laughed. She couldn't help it, she just did.
“That's a no…” Ray’s voice fell, “Got it. Alright. Just forget I said anything…”
“No!” she said a little to loudly, “Thats not it!
It's just… I, um… I thought you liked Lilly.”
“Lilly has a boyfriend,”
“It's stupid, I know,” she sighed, “but you can't help who you like.”
“Well… I can't help that I like you, so…”
“You really mean that?”
“Yeah… I wouldn't ask you out if I didn't.”
“Yes. I'd love to go get coffee or whatever… once we get out of here.”
“Right, um…” Ray looked around and huffed when he realized nothing had changed.
“There's no top to this thing,” he said absentmindedly.
No top? Maya looked up. Sure enough, the rock they were chained around didn't reach the ceiling.
“There's no top,” she said to herself.
“Yeah, that's what I said,”
“Okay, stay with me on this,” she tried looking back at him, “What if we tried to climb it together?”
“Huh?”
“We grab a hold of each other and push against it,” she explained, “We could climb over the top and get ourselves loose.”
“Okay,” Ray looked back at her, “I can see that.”
“Okay, so just,” she reached her hands back as far as possible, “This is gonna hurt like a bitch.”
They twisted their arms awkwardly and positioned their feet.
“Say something if you start to slip,” Maya said.
“Yeah, I got that,”
It took them a few tries– “SHIT!”–but they were able to climb upwards… eventually.
“Okay, on three, we swing our arms over,” she said once they reached the top.
“Alright”
“One, two, three!”
Maya’s heart sank a she felt her foot slip. She messed it up, didn't she? They'll be right back where they started.
But no, they had successfully made it over the top and we're falling back down the floor.
They landed in a heap, a little disoriented, but free.
“Yes! It worked!” Ray cheered, jumping up from the floor, “That was awesome! Thank you! For coming up with that! …I never would've.”
Maya laughed along with him. “Let's get out of here,” she smiled.
It's really awkward to move around with your hands attached to another person, but they made due.
Those pirates had to leave from somewhere, Maya and Ray just hoped they wouldn't run into them on the way out.
As they traversed the cave system, they found that they were ascending ever so slightly. Ray tested his fire every few minutes until they had finally made enough distance for him to melt the chains.
The cuffs hung loosely around their wrists, Ray didn't want to risk burning Maya by trying to get them off.
As luck would have it, it wasn't pirates they ran into, but Lilly. Well… Lilly ran into them.
She hadn't recognized them at first, pinning Ray to the wall, thinking he was an enemy.
“Fuck’s sake, Lil,” he groaned.
Lilly released him immediately, “First Master, you're okay!” she cried, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, “I'm sorry! I'm sorry!”
“It's alright,” Ray patted her back, “Put me down now…”
“Sorry!” she hadn't realized she'd practically picked him up.
“Maya, you're okay?” Lilly asked her.
“Of course I am,” she replied.
“Good,” Lilly sighed, hugging her as well, while also keeping a hold of herself to keep the girl on the floor, “That's great…”
Lilly led them out the way she came, Raine was waiting for them outside with a dazed Libber. He was holding a rag to her head, which had turned red from all blood pouring from her injury.
Maya rushed over to her friend, she wouldn't focus on her and was barely responding.
“Mai?” Libber squinted at her.
“Yeah, Libby, it's me,”
“I don't… feel so… good…”
“I know,” Maya chewed her lip, “We're gonna get you home.”
“We should leave now,” Raine said quietly.
Maya nodded, moving to help Libber stand up.
“I got her,” Lilly stepped forward, picking the girl up with ease.
“Can you hold this, please?” she took the rag from Raine and handed it to Libber, “It'll help.”
Libber groaned a little as she pressed it to her head wound, but she didn't remove it.
“Let's get moving,” Lilly sighed as they made the long journey home.
The sun was rising by the time they made it back to the monastery.
Lilly climbed the steps carrying Libber on her back. The girl was passed out, which was concerning, all things considered.
Raine was walking beside her, he hadn't said much the whole journey back.
Ray and Maya had fallen back behind them. They were exhausted and leaning on each other as they climbed the endless amount of steps. Normally, Lilly would consider this a victory. A sign that Ray might man up and ask her out already. But the events of the past day had taken its own toll on her.
That woman… she read Lilly like she was a fucking book. And Lilly hates how quickly she got the upper hand on her. So much could have been avoided, if she had just kept her cool!
Not only that, but she insulted her father. Lilly isn't sure how she feels about that, but the fact that this woman has something to do with him…
“Papa…” she said out loud, catching Raine's attention, “I don't know what he was like before the war, but… when he came back, he wasn't a father.
It's her fault he's that way, isn't it?”
Raine looked down at her, perplexed. She didn't look sad or angry. More indifferent than anything else.
“It would appear so,” he swallowed.
Lilly looked down at the steps she was climbing, jaw set tight.
“I won't let her hurt you,” Raine promised.
“I don't need you to,” she grumbled, “I'm better than Papa. I'll be ready next time.”
Raine smiled at her, but honestly, he's more likely to kill her the first chance he gets.
When they reached the top, Wu rushed out to meet them, worrying over their injuries, especially Libber. Lilly put her to bed and left her for Wu to take care of.
She went to find Lou, who had moved out into the hallway with all the commotion.
She was quick to embrace him, whispering, “I'm glad you're here.”
“What happened?” fear laced his voice as he looked her up and down, taking in her injuries.
“It was a little more than we expected,” she sighed, “but we'll take care of it next time.”
“Next time?” he wheezed, “So whoever did this is still out there? Is it like this all the time?”
Lilly didn't respond. The one thing she didn't want to do was scare Lou, it's why her letters are always vague and she never let him ask too many questions.
“Lilly?”
“Yes, but it's nothing we won't be able to handle,” she shook her head, “And when reinforcements get here, taking them out’ll be a piece of cake.”
Lou blinked at her, dumbstruck for a moment.
“You talk about me staying safe and then you come back like this?”
“I'm sorry… it's part of the job. Just have to live with it.”
“I don't want you to live it,” Lou never raised his voice, but he stood firm, “I want you to come home, not throw yourself around like a rag doll.”
“Someone has to protect Ninjago,”
“Why does it have to be you?”
Lilly brought her hand to his cheek, she needed him to understand, “Because I was born like this.”
And Lou knew that. He knew everyone in the monastery was special. Maybe he didn't understand it completely, but there was no one who could do what they did.
Lilly knew he hated it, but he's in no position to tell her how to live her life. She's going to protect her home, no matter what. If he wants to leave because of that, then she just has to live with it.
She sighed heavily. Lots of emotions being filtered out with it.
He deserves better anyways. Staying with her is just unnecessary stress and he's already delt with enough of her bagga-
“Please, just take care of yourself,”
Lilly nodded, wiping her eyes. She hated crying, but everything felt like it was piling up, ready to crush her.
“I promise,”
He took her hands and gave them a squeeze, “I love you,”
“I love you, too,” she bent down to kiss his forehead.
Lou pulled her down the hall, “Tell me what happened and we'll get you patched up,” He gestured to her scrapes and bruises.
“Are you sure?”
“Don't keep this from me,” the corners of his mouth upturned slightly, “No matter how bad it is, I don't want you to keep this to yourself.”
“Okay.” For the first time that night, she managed a smile. And she meant it because Lou had a way of making everything feel better.
Two weeks later, Maya was in the library again. Although, this time it wasn't to study, not really. She looked for something interesting to entertain herself for a few hours.
She pulled an ancient history book from the shelf, Misako had recommended it once when she was visiting. Maya flipped through the pages, furrowing her brow as a daisy fell from between them.
It was broken and withered, she instantly recognized it as one of the ones Lou had brought Lilly.
“Uh, I guess Lilly lost one,” she chuckled, holding it up to show off to the other person in the room.
“No, it was on purpose,” Raine responded, gesturing to the pile of daisies he had accumulated in his research, and some he was using as bookmarks.
Maya looked back at the bookshelf, pulling some out at random. More daisies were stuck between the pages.
Lilly promised to save them, but Maya didn't think she meant like this.
“Why didn't she keep them in her room?” she asked.
“Ask her,” Raine mumbled, taking a sip of coffee.
Maya put the flowers back, they were Lilly's problem. She spared one last glance at Raine. He was pouring over as many scrolls and books he could find about the elements, specifically amber.
Wu theorized that that woman had been the master of amber, enabling her to use any element she wanted as long as she can touch another master. Apparently, he hadn't seen someone weild it for a few generations.
“You should take a break,” she said idly.
“Not until I have all the information,”
Maya shook her head, “You'll be there for ages. Those go back centuries.”
“I don't want to risk it,”
Maya huffed, turning to leave. Getting Raine to do anything was a losing battle.
Maya went to sit outside again and read. She liked history, the older it was, the better because at that point, it becomes myth more than anything. And myths are her favorite stories.
Ray came out to join her shortly after, peeling an orange in his hand.
“Don't get juice everywhere,” she said.
Ray gave her a half laugh, holding his arms farther away from her.
“How's Lib doin’?” he asked, trying to make conversation.
He probably already knew the answer, but Maya obliged him anyways. She closed her book to protect it from orange juice.
“Much better,” she replied, “She’s been obnoxious, but she gets a pass for now.”
“You’d think that concussion would've knocked some sense into her?” he laughed.
“No, if anything it made her worse,” she chuckled, “We’ll know for sure next time she tries to shit-talk you during training.”
“Oh, I look forward to it,” Ray rolled his eyes.
The gate creaked open across the courtyard, and in came Lou and Lilly. She was insistant that any of he wanted to visit, she would travel with him. Who better to protect you than someone with super strength?
“I'm back!” Lilly waved at them, a large grin on her face.
“Hey, Lil!” Ray yelled back.
The two came to sit with them, Lou fidgeted with a paper in his hands.
“Louie’s got somethin’ to show you,” Lilly said, almost bouncing in her seat.
“It's not a big deal,” he flushed.
“It's the biggest deal!” she argued.
“What is it?” Maya smiled.
Lou timidly turned the paper toward Ray, “Our first show is at the end of the week. I wanted to offer all of you an invitation to come.”
Maya looked down at the paper as well. It wasn't much and could've been made in twenty minutes, but it was easy to catch the eye. ‘The Royal Blacksmiths’ was at the top in big, bold letters.
Ray wheezed, “You didn't…”
“I, uh… may have latched onto the fact that Lilly could've… gotten really hurt. And I vented about it to the guys and somewhere in the middle of all that we came up with this and well… we all liked it. Sounds cool, you know. So we decided that was our name.”
“Why?”
“You saved Lilly,” Lou looked to the ground, “I can't thank you enough.”
“I don't know what to say,”
You don't have to say anything,” Lou said quickly, “You don't even have to come. It's gonna be small, but I just wanted to thank you.” he glanced at his girlfriend, “I'm glad she has you around.”
“Thank you,” Ray swallowed.
“You better come,” Lilly crossed her arms, “Then when Lou gets famous, you can say you were there when it all started!”
“Lilly!”
“Well,” Ray turned to Maya, “I know we talked about coffee, but do you want-”
“Yes!” she said quickly, “I'd love to!”
“I'm glad you two finally worked your crap out,” Lilly smiled, “It was annoying seeing you dance around each other.”
Ray rolled his eyes, Maya ducked her head in embarrassment.
But everything worked out in the end. They still had a lot of healing to do. And a lot of growth.
But for now, this was good.