The fight against the Photacs and dragons is still going on in front of the main gates.
"Arin and Sora better find Riyu because if they don't, we're not going to survive this." Said Lloyd, I helped him up the Light Dragon.
"You're right! And we don't need my futuristic ability to know that!" I agreed before we were knocked off the dragon, to the ground.
We got up and sent power blasts to the beasts to fend them off, protecting the dragons at the same time.
"Eat flame, you bunch of flame-eaters!" Shouted Wyldfyre, throwing mayhem at the Claws and Photacs.
"Not fair!" Wyldfyre was in the air after being knocked off of her dragon, "Got you!" I got her to safety.
"Thanks! I guess you're not just a pretty girl at all! You're cool!" She thanked me.
"Thanks! Watch out!" I nodded before yelling since her dragon was about to crush us.
Luckily, my brother was able to pull us away from the casualty.
"Release me! I must fight!" She protested against Lloyd holding her before she left.
"Yeah, you're welcome, by the way. Does she hate me or what?" Asked Lloyd to me while I was busy blading away at the beasts.
"Nope! Just doesn't like being a burden. She just wants to fight." I corrected before concentrating on one point to blast a large beam of light, blinding some of the Photacs.
"Arin, Sora, come in. We really need some good news out here." Lloyd went to contact Arin on our connected earpieces.
"Oh, no. Is it that bad?" Asked our student.
"It's as bad as my sister theorizing on our potential doom. So yes." Answered Lloyd.
"HEY!" I retorted in the background before leaping in the air to dodge some Photacs.
"I've hacked the city's surveillance network, and we're scanning through it as fast as we can to find Riyu." Informed Sora.
"If you can't find Riyu, you're going to have to do this yourself, without a spark." Stated Lloyd.
"I've never been able to use elemental power on my own. You and Sensei know that." Said Sora, unsure of herself.
"Sora, it's your..." started my brother, "—True potential. Yeah. You and Sensei told me a million times. But what if my potential isn't as true as you think it is?" She cut him off, knowing what he was going to say.
"Stop! Wait! Go back!" Yelled Arin, "What are you seeing? You found him?" I asked, using my earpiece in the air while fighting.
"Here's the good ones you wanted. We found where Riyu is. But the bad news? He's in the worst possible place." Stated Sora.
Lloyd and I looked at the Empress' tower.
"Oh! You have GOT to be ******* kidding me!" I swore.
"Language! Cole wouldn't like that! Nor would Master Wu, (Y/N)!" Scolded my brother.
"First off, Cole would definitely swear too with Kai and Jay. Second, you're right. And third...we're screwed!" I listed off on what I'm feeling.
We kept on fighting till Sora and Arin are back to stop the Photacs.
"There are too many-AH!" I tried to talk to my brother but then I was hit by a laser and was blasted away from Lloyd, making me hit the ground roughly.
"Sis!" Lloyd's voice seemed far away as I heard the ringing in my ear, I think I'm going deaf...
A few more explosions happened making my ears ring even more.
I looked around and I could see all the chaos going on all at once.
It made me so overwhelmed...
But then, he appeared.
"Cole...?" I muttered in confusion, I knew it wasn't him, just a fiction of my imagination.
"Remember, (Y/N). Always take one thing at a time. Like Master Wu told us when we trained. Focus on one thing and focus on the next thing. Then, you take the next step."
"What happens if I can't do that...?"
A flashback of us on the roof of the Monastery. It was before the Merge and our honeymoon.
"Are you playing with me right now, (Y/N)?" Cole gave me an amused look, a smile tugging at his lips.
I only returned a slightly confused look, "Not really. I mean...I can understand but...What if whatever thing I'm handling is too much for me? What if I can't even focus on one thing? What if—I...Ugh...It's too much just trying to explain it..."
"Hey. I can understand that. I mean, after my mom left me and dad behind in the world...I almost lost my way. I couldn't focus on thing either." Cole took in a sigh, speaking of his past tragedies.
I looked in slight sadness and worry, he never speaks about his mother lightly unless if he wants to prove a point. But I only let him continue.
"I couldn't focus or think so I climbed a mountain to avoid thinking of her and my dad. Then, that's when I found Master Wu. I'm sure you know the rest." He spoke about how he first met my uncle, I couldn't forget about that moment.
"That's when I realized what being a Ninja is. The responsibility, the courage and dedication you have to put in for yourself and others. It made me focus again, think about the next step." My husband slowly held my hand, turning his neck to face me.
"Then you showed up and made it all better again. You've always been there for me and the others. Wether we pushed you away or said we didn't need any help, you always came back to pick ourselves up. Without you, I don't think I would've been able to focus on anything at all in my life. You made my life better, Angel." Cole smiled toward me, I felt my heart swell in love when hearing his words.
"Cole...You're too much sometimes..." I shyly smiled, feeling my cheeks heat up.
"I'm just saying what I think is right to say. I believe in you, love. All you gotta do is focus. Then, think of one thing at a time. Take a deep breath and your vision will become clearer. Someone told me that when we were trying to defeat the Skull Sorcerer." He teased slightly at the end, electing me to shove him.
"I didn't say it like that, Rock Boy." I replied, he started laughing slightly, I couldn't help but join in the laughter.
"And plus, I'm pretty sure I said a loving speech about how much I loved you. To get you out of your depression when your powers were unstable in Shintaro. Remember?" I told him after we finished laughing.
"Really? How did you say it? Was it like... 'Oh, Cole, dearest, you're the only man I love!~ The only man that can make me go crazy!—'" I immediately hit his shoulder to stop him from continuing.
"COLE BROOKSTONE! Stop it!"
"What? I didn't say anything inappropriate. Oh, wait a second...Angel...were you thinking of—"
"NO! NO! NO! Nothing! Just! Stop, let's just move on, okay?"
"Never knew you were like 'that', Angel. What a nice discovery I found out~." Cole had this smirk on his face that meant trouble.
I had an irritated face, "I will force you to sleep on the couch for a month," I threatened, trying to look away from his face.
"You wouldn't! You love too much!" Cole countered.
"4 months."
"Why did you skip to 4–"
"8."
"Woah, woah! Okay, okay, Angel. Gosh! You're hardcore."
I smiled, "That's one of the reasons why you married me, hm?"
"Hm." He hummed, "You're not wrong though."
"And about the whole focus thing...Thanks for that. You've helped me at ease for that, Cole. Thank you." I gave him a thankful smile.
He smiled back, "Anything for my beautiful wife."
I couldn't help but chuckle by what he called me. It was still new for me when it came to our marriage but I'd never trade anything for it. Cole's the best husband I could ever ask for to spend the rest of my days with him.
"Better get going now. This is our last patrol before we head to our honeymoon." Cole stood up from his sitting position, and looked over at the city.
"Right. Ready to go, Master of Earth?" I gave a smile, turning my earpiece on.
He did the same, "You betcha! Master of Light."
Since Cole always does a hit and run. I figured, why not change the roles?
Without giving him time to process, I kissed him briefly before putting up my hood and went for our patrol.
"Hope you can catch up, lover boy!" I yelled out, teasing him with a laugh before continuing to leap over the roofs of the buildings.
"Hey! Not fair! Come back here!" I only laughed hearing his reply.
I smiled at the memory before I focused on one thing like he told me to. I took in a breath. It helped me calm down. I saw the figure of Cole smile. I took off my hood to smile back.
"Love you too, Cole. I'll see you soon."
By putting my hood back on. I ran back into action, feeling stronger than ever and pushing anything away in my way.
"What has gotten you so worked up?" Asked my brother, I laughed, "Let's just say someone paid me a visit to tell me something important I forgot to remember." I answered.
"Oh? I had the same thing happen to me. I guess we are related in more ways than one of being siblings." Joked Lloyd.
"Haha! True! So, how are we going to get the Empress and Ras outta there?" I chuckled before asking him of his new plan.
"We're getting them both out here so pur students can get to Riyu." He told me, before I waved to the Light Dragon I needed help.
We approached Wyldfyre, "I know what to do. Turn around!" Lloyd tried to tell Wyldfyre he has a plan but of course, knowing the younger Elemental Master, she won't back down.
"Dragons do NOT run from battle!" She did her own roar.
"We're not running! We're attacking the palace of the Empress. Let's take this battle to the heart of the Imperium!" Instructed Lloyd.
She now understood what he meant, "Now that's a good idea!"
All of the dragons went to the palace to distract the Empress and Ras to buy time for Arin and Sora.
We made it the palace and attacked the doors.
"HEY! I have an office in there! What'll happen to my collection of delicate porcelain unicorn figurines?" Shouted Rapton.
We only gave him a look with his Claws, "What? Unicorns have horns on their faces! That's hardcore! So shut up!" He retorted.
"First off, language! Second, that's weird coming from a guy like you. Third, unicorns have horns on their forehead specifically speaking. And fourth, you're gonna be watching them fall apart you moron!!!" I listed before shouting back.
"Didn't you JUST say 'language'?!" Shouted slightly Lloyd.
"Moron doesn't count in my book." I stated rapidly before I heard a sigh and facepalm from my brother.
There appeared the one and only Empress, "Ninja! How dare you lay siege to Imperium Palace, the seat of MY power?!" Oh yeah, Ras was there too, with Shadow...
"How dare you treat these dragons like objects just to be drained so YOU can keep the lights on?" Retorted Lloyd to the Empress.
The dragons all roared in agreement.
The Empress only huffed, "An Empress—"
"'Owes no explanation to lesser beings!' Yeah, yeah, we get it! Just get to the point already! ATTACK!" I intervened.
"How dare you! Bring me that woman who insulted me! Spare no one except her!" Ordered the Empress.
The Photacs charged at us, I leaped into the air and fought with Shadow.
"Again we meet." Said the figure.
"Unfortunately." I replied as we butted arms.
"You could've avoided all of this if you stayed in your cage." I fought with their shadows, trying to trap me like last time.
"We both know I wouldn't do that." I said before breaking free and using my light to blind them, kicking them away.
We continued to fight before we felt the ground shake beneath us.
"Huh?! Is this your doing again?!" I asked Shadow.
"As much as I would like it for it to be me, no." They answered moving away from me.
I moved away also, to rejoin with Wyldfyre and Lloyd.
I saw some sort of building emerge from the ground.
"What is this strange house?" Asked Wyldfyre.
"No clue. Prepare for anything." Told Lloyd to us.
We all prepared for what's about to appear form
The doors but I only gasped seeing who emerged from the doors of the building.
"No way!"
Ninja never quit!