Ninja Within Shadows ► Ninjago [REWRITING]

* 13 - First Kidnapping

"Let her go!" Lloyd scowled, forming his powers in his hands.

"You're clearly outnumbered," Cole said, clenching his fists.

But an echoed hiss then rang out among the team and more shadows appeared. Much, much more than there were in the group, leaving them all with widened eyes.

"I believe you spoke too soon, Cole..." Zane gulped, forming his ice in his hands.

"Okay... seven of us against a bunch of shadows. Wonderful," Scarlett mumbled under her breath.

It was after those words that the shadows began attacking. Nya blocked and dodged their attacks, frowning. "Please don't tell me you forgot how to count... there's eight of us."

"I'm pretty uneducated, but I don't count."

"Scarlett, are you still going on with that crap? How many times do we have to remind you, you are one of us," Jay told her, shooting his lightning at two more shadows.

"Jay, not only am I injured—" Scarlett squeaked as she barely dodged a knife coming her way. "I can't fight for shit!"

"Let me go!" Mia tried wiggling out of the shadow's grip, but she couldn't. Almost escaping him twice costed her kicks to her injured ankle, leaving it bleeding from the ankle. "Ow...!"

"Better stay put, Brooklyn," the shadow threatened, pulling her away from the other ninja slowly. "Or you'll suffer worse when we get back."

Her eyes widened for a few seconds, her face then shrinking into a scowl. She lit up her hands in her light, ready to release it. "You aren't taking me anywhere, you—!"

But she couldn't finish her words as a pair of handcuffs were closed on her wrists. "What the—?"The light then subsided, and she was no longer able to use it. "M- My powers!"

"I guess you've never heard of Vengestone before." The shadow smirked, grabbing hold of her arm and yanking her back. "You won't be able to use your powers with these on."

"You monster..." Mia scowled, not hesitating to try and escape again.

"Mia, hold on!" Lloyd shouted. As he was going to help the redhead, he was attacked by a shadow, being hit in the head. He fell to the floor and was immediately unconscious.

"Lloyd!" Mia cried, trying to reach out for him but failed to with the handcuffs around her wrists.

"What about the other girl?" the shadow hissed, looking at Scarlett. However, she was behind Kai, who attacked every shadow that dared take a step toward her.

"None are getting past him. It's like he's her bodyguard," a second shadow told the first. "But we have one of them—and the bothersome one at that."

"You're right... although we should never let our guard down." The first shadow looked at Scarlett, scowling. "Appearing weak may just be a setup. She may end up unlocking her element at any given time. We can't let her go."

"So what do we do?"

"We retreat with the redhead, and when none of them are paying attention... we finish the job."

The second shadow nodded, looking back to the entire group. "We must retreat!"

"Retreat?" Nya looked up, confused. "Why are they retreating?"

"H- Hey, they have Mia!" Jay pointed toward the three.

"Yeah, thanks for noticing!" Mia huffed, trying to pull herself away. "I can't use my light because I'm stuck in Vengestone!"

"Vengestone is a material that disables elemental powers," Zane informed. "How did they get their hands on it?"

"Well, Lloyd's knocked out and they're getting away!" Cole was at the green ninja's side, his hand behind the blond's head and lifting it up gently. "He's out cold."

"You ninja will never see your friend again... too bad you can't say goodbye." The shadow holding Mia tossed her to another one, and the two disappeared. "And you..." He looked at Scarlett. "Don't think you're off the hook."

Scarlett took a step back, gulping. "You... you don't need me."

"You won't lay a finger on her." Kai stood in front of her, his arm held out. "And we'll get Mia back!"

"Oh, Fire Ninja... that's what you think." And after those words, the remaining shadows were gone.

"They took Mia..." Jay frowned, his lightning leaving his hands. The others let their hands fall to their sides, the same look on their faces.

Scarlett felt the pain in her arm intensify and she held it, hissing. "My arm..."

"Maybe there was a better way to get rid of that..." Nya sighed, walking over to her. "Let me see it."

Lloyd groaned, slowly opening his eyes. "Where... where is she?"

"They took her away," Zane answered with a frown. "But we'll get her back."

The green ninja rubbed his head, sitting up and looking around. "Dammit... they're gonna take her powers—!"

"Mia's strong, Lloyd," Scarlett cut him off, her voice soft. She let the Sister of Fire examine her arm, even if it hurt, and gave him a sad look. "She can clearly handle herself. I know they won't get to her."

"Scarlett's right, Lloyd." The nindroid helped his friend to his feet, patting him on the back. "We will get Mia back—but we have to recover for now. They can be coming back for Scarlett at any moment, and we must prepare."

Scarlett huffed at his statement. "For the last time guys, I—"

"Don't argue. You heard the shadow," Kai stopped her. "You're not off the hook. They know your element is still inside you, and they'll take it no matter what."

"Do you see any powers in me?" Scarlett snapped. "They can take me away for all I care, because they won't find anything."

"Scarlett, can you just—?" Cole began, but Nya held a hand out.

"No, Cole. Scarlett's right—she hasn't unlocked her powers yet, and therefore, they won't find anything." Nya looked to the others, and at their shocked faces, gave them a serious look. "So why should they come after her?"

"Thank you." Scarlett huffed, turning around. "I'm not the best with medics, so... if any of you wanna help me inside with this arm, I'd really appreciate it." She then walked back inside the Bounty without another word.

Once she was out of sight, Kai crossed his arms. "Nya, what the hell was that?"

"I did not see the reason behind that remark," Zane told her.

Nya sighed, turning around with a small frown. "Man, I really thought reverse psychology would work on her!"