tournament | ninjago {featuring your ocs!}

13 | turning tides

Apollo smirks. "Leave that to me." They open a portal underneath the boat, teleporting it below the surface of the water. More cheers and applause fill the air and Melody smiles as the vessel rapidly sinks, never to sail again. Nearby, Rain, Taylor, and Razhai stand guard by the tied-up cultists.

"Nooo, not the boat..." one of them groans. Rain snarls at him and he falls silent.

Jay and Ivan emerge from the palace, chatting with one another as they head down the steps. They meet the Ninja and Garmadon by the foot of the stairs. "We checked the palace and the sleeping quarters, but we didn't see anyone," Ivan reports. He looks to Lloyd, violet eyes glimmering with sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," the blonde forces a smile. "You did all you could." Ivan nods, giving Jay a final grin before jogging off to join Ray, Samuel, and Katlain.

"Don't worry. We'll find her." Cole gives his little brother a soft look. "With no way off this island, it'll only be a matter of time."

"Well, I'm going to find her now." Lloyd sets his jaw, eyes narrowed. "I'm done sitting around."

"We'll all go," says Kai. "Nya's out in the jungle retrieving a few vehicles. If we meet up with her, we can use those to search the island."

"Then let us waste no time." Garmadon raises his voice, addressing the rest of the Masters. "Everyone else, stay here and guard the camp!"

"Aye aye, Sensei G!" Rose calls with a salute.

"I'll send all of you a mind message if anything happens," Lemon adds.

Garmadon and the Ninja nod and jog away, heading for the jungle. Their allies watch as they disappear into the trees.

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T/W: Slightly/potentially disturbing imagery ahead.

Kira wakes again.

The cave is gone. She's trapped in some sort of void, a darkness that goes on for miles and miles on end.

"Kira!"

A familiar voice, wrought with desperation, screams her name. She spins around. Lloyd is there. His face is twisted in a grimace, eyes swimming with pain as his entire body trembles. He takes a shaky step toward her, looking worn and sickly, hardly more than a ninja-fied zombie. Kira's heart wrenches at the sight.

He's suffering.

She rushes toward her lover with tears in her eyes. "Lloyd, what's wrong? Talk to me."

He opens his mouth, only to collapse with a groan of pain, still shaking violently. Kira kneels beside him and cradles his head in her lap, gently stroking his sweaty hair. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here..."

He winces as two words leave his cracked lips.

"Help...me."

Kira gags, a sick feeling creeping through her stomach, as cracks appear along his skin. She stumbles back with a choked cry. Lloyd screams, a sound that rattles her bones, and reaches for her. Then, his body breaks like a piece of fine china, shattering into shards of blue crystal that scatter across the ground.

"NO!"

Kira collapses next to the pieces of what was once her lover, sobbing into her hands. As her eyes flutter shut, she feels it: the fragments of crystal, calling to her like little voices begging for help. The master of crystal concentrates. She reaches into the depths of her mind, centers herself, and exercises control. At her will, the shards start to recombine, rapidly forming a whole crystal again.