Ninjago NG Book 1: Bloodlines

12: Fire Rekindled

Homura opened her eyes. Her body cried out in pain from being whipped, and being malnourished for who knew how long. She hadn't seen the light of day for days, and it was beginning to take its toll on her. Her muscles had become weak, and her instincts were lacking from nourishment and sleep.

Every time she tried to fall into the comforting arms of sleep, she'd be awakened by one of the figure's minions. Her gi was torn in multiple places. Her wrists and neck were rubbed raw by her continuing efforts to try and break the chains. Without her katanas, she couldn't feel the warm presence of her fire, and that meant she couldn't melt the chains to free herself from this living nightmare.

Dang it! Homura cursed herself. How could she have been weak enough to fall this far off the cliff? It made no sense to her whatsoever. She always took pride in her wits, but now when she needed it the most, it seemed to vanish. The micro-sized cracks in her heart from never fully coping with reality were being taken advantage of, and it was breaking her down, further and further, until nothing would be left.

Light poured into the room. She looked up, seeing the figure clad in black with what looked like a top hat on walk into the room. Him. The reason she had the scar across her right eye was because of him. The reason her father had sacrificed himself for her was because of him. Everything always led back to him.

"My, I'm surprised you're already awake, young fire wielder," the figure cackled. The hairs on the back of Homura's neck stood on end. Something wasn't right. The fire wielder couldn't quite place her finger on what was off, but she did know something was amidst.

Homura snarled. She tried to lunge at the figure, but the chains only tightened, choking her and forcing her to stop. Homura swallowed a huge gulp of air, coughing as the sweet-tasting air found its way to her lungs. As the figure shut the door, all that could be seen was Homura's pale, weak eyes.

"Stay down. Actually-- you can't, because you are the one I need the most. Those others will be useful too, but your fire is the key," the figure laughed. He unlocked the chains, but placed a strange stone attached to a chain around Homura's neck. The girl inspected it, but upon closer investigation was not welcomed when a shock of electricity bolted through her.

A deep-throated scream tore itself from her throat. The volts went through her body, making her feel like she had been stabbed repeatedly by thousands of small needles dipped in lava. When the shock stopped, Homura gulped down more air. She coughed again, and her vision was blurry. Cackling reached her ears, and she looked up through watery eyes.

"Vengestone attached to a shock collar, my dear fire wielder," the figure cackled. Homura let out a low growl. "Where are your manners? Surely your father and mother taught you better than this. Forgive me, you can call me Adekave."

"Who came up with that name? One of your lousy minions?" Homura laughed. Adekave hissed, raising a hand in the air. Homura shrunk immediately, trying to shield her face, but hit the collar. Screaming filled the air as her back met the cold, hard ground.

"Perhaps that will teach you to bite your tongue, brat," Adekave hissed. Homura groaned. Her back ached, as did her face where Adekave struck her for her smart mouth. Her captor chuckled. Homura growled again; she would not give him the satisfaction of being controlled into silence.

She was forced forward by the new chains Adekave's right hand man had tied to her. The one around her neck in particular was tight; one wrong move and she would choke. Maybe it was best if she didn't make any more trouble. It would only be more work for Seth and the others to bail her out.

A new feeling that was warm emerged in her chest. It was there every time she thought about the earth wielder. Shaking her head gently to avoid being choked, she pushed those thoughts from her mind. If the enemy found out, they would only take advantage, and that didn't settle well with Homura. She much preferred to stay alone. Shaking, the thought struck her that there was a reason Sensei Cole had brought the four of them together. While it didn't faze Homura, she finally understood the method behind the madness.

It was because Sensei Cole knew that one elemental wielder with one of the powers of creation couldn't fight this vast army. Suicide. That's what it would be if just a single master had enough courage --or stupidity-- to take on the entire army of darkness. Another thought crossed Homura's mind. Was the army indestructible? She shook her head. If she let such negative thoughts enter her head, she would never get out.

She looked up, seeing she was in an entirely different part of the lair than she had been in before. Here were chambers with all kinds of wires-Brook and Paige would like it, they tinkered a lot. Feeling a pit in her stomach, Homura realized this place wasn't somewhere where people were willingly brought. She was a prisoner of war; why would the enemy care about her benefits?

"I suppose I'll tell you why you're here," Adekave laughed lightly after seeing Homura's confused features. He snapped his fingers, and there was the chamber Homura was to go in. Her fingers twitched instinctually to her neck where she received another shock, but she kept pulling at the collar. After many tries, it finally snapped. She went to pull the chains from her wrists off. It couldn't be that easy, could it-or had she not been trying enough? She snapped the chains and bolted, hearing a voice scream; "Don't just stand there idiots! Catch her!"

Homura had to get back to the others and warn them. Warn them of the hornet's nest she had gotten them all into. Her legs threatened to buckle with every step, and her muscles ached. Curse these hostile people for not treating their captors with more respect than mere dirt! Whipping her head around, she saw the entire army of darkness after her.

Great. You just had to escape, didn't you? Adekave just had to send the entire army after you. Homura thought to herself. Her reddish-brown hair was clinging to her face; her hair tie had snapped while she was prisoner. She quickly glanced down to see how her gi had fared. It was torn in multiple places, not even being recognizable to Homura's own eyes.

Up ahead, there was a cave. Maybe if she could just hold out, then she could get inside for shelter. She looked down at her wrist, seeing Adekave or one of his minions had placed something beside her communicator. Her poor communicator had seen better days; the screen was cracked, and the strap was tattered and unraveling in places. Homura rolled her eyes at the predicament she found herself in the middle of.

Her legs ached. She could hear the pounding of her blood in her ears, making her feel nauseous. No nourishment for the past few days was really catching up to her. Praying that this crazy scheme would work, she held the button on the side of her communicator. The screen went blue, then had some bars on it, but it eventually turned on.

She pushed a few keys on the screen, and it began to beep. She shook her head, hoping to keep herself swimming above the darkness that threatened to drag her under. Homura looked around, hoping that the coordinates had made it through to the others' communicators. She knew now she would die if she tried to keep her running up. Her body was tired enough as it was, and pushing it a bit more would be her overstepping her boundaries.

Please find me guys.....