Escapade | Ninjago AU

Chapter 32

Lloyd's POV

Kai and I squat in a bush about twenty feet away from the gaping hole in the side of a mountain where two men are standing. Both of their swords are sheathed, but both are diligently searching the area, their eyes constantly sweeping across the land in front of them.

With the momentum that the unnatural elementals have been gaining, they have been able to recruit a lot of people into their forces, even those who are not elementals, and these guys appear to be completely mundane.

Kai and I could easily take them down silently, but that's not what we're here to do. We're here to suck every ounce of attention out of the air and direct it all towards us, and if that means doing a bit of extra work, then so be it. In order for any of this to work, we need to appear like we are ready to tear the entire place down.

A warm hand on my arm draws me out of my thoughts, and I look over at Kai. His eyebrows are slightly pinched together as he whispers, "Are you sure you can do this? Back in the mountains, when you tried to use your powers..."

"I freezed up, but I've been working on it, and I know that I can do it. I won't lose control," I verbalize the mental affirmations I have been giving myself ever since that day on the mountains.

I have killed far too many people in my lifetime, people who were simply following their orders, and it has haunted me ever since their blood fell on my hands. I was young and scared and wanted to protect the woman I love, so I let my power out in its most raw form, and it was lethal. I didn't really know how to control my powers even when I wasn't panicking, so that state only made the problem worse. Honestly, I was just a boy looking for a place to call home again, and I was terrified of dying over something I didn't do. I just wanted to survive, and my powers were the way to make that a reality.

Ever since I froze up on the mountain when I came face to face with the unnatural elementals, I've had to dive back into that dark period of my life and really think about it in order to clear up my mental blockade. With Rumi's help, I've seen that the people who died weren't the only victims on the field that day.

Although we were on the run for a long time, the brunt of the intensity was when I was still younger than twenty years old and gripling with my powers. None of the guys had complete control over their powers by that time in their own lives, and they received proper instruction in an emotionally stable environment. There was no way that I would have been able to gain a good enough grip on my powers at that point in time to use them in the same way I can today. I had any chance of even partial mastery taken away when I was chased out of the capital and had to fight for my own life.

The mental strain of our entire situation was enough to make anyone buckle. Even being back with the guys, we can fall back into our old patterns, but things are very different. Being on the run, hated and hunted, for so long has impacted each of us even if we try to conceal it. The light in our eyes is a bit dimmer, and we're always on alert, even if we know we're in the safety of the Destiny's Bounty. That's not even considering how due to all of this, the other three guys in my company were ripped from their soulmates which in itself is enough to break a person beyond repair.

We're victims of the cruel twist of fate that came our way. I am, Harumi is, Kai is, Skylor is, Zane is, Pixal is, Cole (wherever he is) is, Jay is, and hell, even Nya is. I will mourn for those who fell trying to capture us for the rest of my life, but I can't regret my actions anymore because it's what I had to do. I had to use my powers to keep Harumi and I going. I shouldn't feel guilty about protecting us.

My powers are and always have been a gift, and I have to use them to fight for what I believe in.

"Alright then, you ready to make our grand entrance?" Kai asks with a mischievous glint in his eyes. A smirk falls onto his lips, the left corner of his lip tugging upwards and revealing the sole dimple he has on his left cheek.