Reconciled hearts: a season9(Lloyrumi story)

Chapter 165: Echo

Half an hour later Jade and Lilla were by the sea of crowded shops by the base of Borg Tower. They silently crept along the abandoned streets, occasionally glancing over their shoulders to make sure they weren't being followed. When they neared a small building, supposedly called "Mystaké's Tea Shop", Jade couldn't help notice that there was no one at all around this part of Ninjago City.
As they approached the wide cemented steps to the famous skyscraper, Jade jumped with a tiny shriek, when the smallest sounds made her heart leap. She leapt into the nearest alleyway, pulling Lilla with her, and when they both were settled in the shadows, Lilla heard the sounds too.
The faintest sounds of deep breathing and the quiet revv of an engine were slowly coming nearer, growing louder.
Jade pulled out Greta in the blink of an eye, simultaneously handing a knife to Lilla, who gave her an incredulous stare.
"Where did you get thi-"
"No questions asked!"
As the noises grew louder, the two retreated further into the alley, hoping their bodies would blend into the darkness. Pointing their weapons at the narrow one-way space in front of them, they waited.
And waited.
Until, a black figure rolled into sight, blood red eyes flashed into the darkness, and Lilla screamed.

Thinking by herself, Kaitlynn went off towards the canals. She too was continuously checking her six, for fear of being attacked by a spellcaster again.
She abruptly turned around, however, when she heard the accidental high-pitched complaint of an oddly familiar puppy.
"Snickerdoodles!" Cloud growled, crashing her front paw against the wooden wall of a shop.
"What are YOU doing here?!" Kaitlynn whispered loudly. "I thought you were back at the base, Cloud!"
"I followed you guys," she said firmly. "Jade and Lilla were right about having no defenses. You're the one without a protector. So, where are we going?"
"Ugh," Kaitlynn sighed, pausing. Then she added, "I was thinking of stopping by the palace."
"That's a good idea," the Pomeranian said brightly, charging ahead of the girl, leaving Kaitlynn no choice but to run after her as they drew closer to the palace moat.
As they crossed, Kaitlynn observed the ruins of the Jade Palace, thinking of Harumi's history with it. It was a natural instinct to be curious, after all.
But she came to worry less about that and more about searching the palace when she saw the dozens of rooms in a steady spiral upward, barely seeing the sky through the open space overhead. Kaitlynn turned to look at Cloud.
Upon looking by her feet, she saw the puppy was already gone.

"Who are you?!" the figure yelled out to Jade and Lilla, coming closer, with. . .
"Four knives??" Jade realized. "Wait a minute. . ."
She froze at the sound of the walkie-talkie's static crackling for a moment, before Kaitlynn's voice echoed between the three.
"Hey guys, we found Harumi!" she gasped. "There's...way too many stairs...and not enough elevators here in the palace, sorry. She's not coming out of her room, though. Just thought you should get the status update..."
Lilla pulled the walkie-talkie out of Jade's hands, looking at the dark warrior, whose face was contorted in surprise, and to the blonde unconscious in the sidecar of his motorcycle.
"Tell her we found Lloyd and Garmadon."

"WHAT?" Cloud barked sharply, as she couldn't help overhearing Kaitlynn's conversation with the others. "Found them?! How--Harumi! HARUMI!"
No answer.
Cloud could hear her shuffling with her puppy ears behind the locked door, and she came closer, leaning against the door.
"Kaitlynn found Garmadon and Lloyd."
"Why should I listen to you?" Harumi said fiercely. "You didn't believe me!"
It was hard for Cloud to ignore the stabs of pain at that one sentence.
"Look, the nightmares weren't even that bad!" she said insensitively, immediately regretting it as soon as the words left her mouth. "No, wait I--"
"Not that bad?" Harumi echoed, her voice hollow.
Silence followed.
"Cloud, you might be my best friend, but don't underestimate Zephyr," she choked out, remembering the horror scenes she'd endure nightly. "You don't know how real it felt, to watch my friends die in front of me. To watch them be tortured."
"Harumi, I-I understand--"
"It's okay," she said quietly, unlocking the door. "No one does."
As Harumi slowly descended the spiral stairs, Cloud seized the opportunity to talk with Lloyd and Garmadon. Taking the walkie talkie from Kaitlynn, she adjusted the speakers on the top and spoke into it.
"H-hello?" she stammered unsurely.
"Cloud?? Is that you??" a familiar young man's voice sound unbelieving, yet overjoyed.
"Hi, Lloyd," she smiled. "I'm alive. Don't worry about that...for now. What you should worry about is Harumi. And her nightmares."
She could feel him tense on the other side.
"Harumi had visions none of you could imagine," Garmadon's deep, hoarse voice declared. "And despite proving herself time and time again, you didn't believe her."
"Look, we don't have time to 'point the finger' right now!" Lloyd sighed. "We need to help her."
"Well, we're bringing her back right now. Where are you guys?" Kaitlynn came over, kneeling down beside Cloud.
"Almost there," Jade cheerfully told her, supposedly spotting the sewer entrances. "We'll see you soon?"
"You know it," Harumi's shaky voice shouted from a few flights down, after she had heard her Yin. "Don't die."
"Sure thing," Kaitlynn snarked, pausing, then, in a voice audible to no one but herself:
"We'll give it our best shot."

Lloyd had last been in the sewers when he had thought he'd clearly seen his Yang die before his eyes. No matter how much his mind knew she was alive and coming to him, he couldn't stop the fear and guarded glances, the constant vigilance, and the making sure everyone was accounted for.
As he slipped a little on the cold, wet floors, he shivered.
When Lloyd finally reached the heavy metal doors, climbing the stone staircase, he had never been more glad to see a place he had once feared and/or tried to infiltrate.
And an hour later, he had never been more glad to see a familiar pair of jade orbs, watery and tired, as if the life had been sucked out of them, as Lloyd and Harumi locked eyes.

( A/N: Hey all, apologies if there are any typos, I'm writing this at like 10:30 at night LOL. Good luck to all with upcoming finals, and to everyone graduating this year! You got this! Stay safe :) ~Ash )