Written by: dxganronpa
Mia huffed, lifting her head only a bit to look at the green ninja, her eyes puffy and red from the tears. "What? What is it that you want to talk about?"
Lloyd walked over to her, sitting on the bed and putting a hand on her back. "What happened back there? Why was Scarlett so... quiet when she came back? And where is she?"
"What is this, an interrogation? I have no idea where she is!" Mia cried, letting her head fall back into the pillow, sniffling. "She still has her doubts."
"Doubts? What does that mean?" he asked.
"She said that we were talking about how she's the weakest link, how we only went there to destroy the shadows, not rescue her," she explained in a muffled shout. "She said... that I never thought of her as a friend. None of us did."
Lloyd was shocked at that. "Why... why would she say that? We all thought—we think—of her as a dear friend."
"Yeah, well something changed." Mia cried softly into her pillow, grasping his hand. "She... Lloyd, I barely recognized her! She sounded so different..."
"Obviously something happened while she was in there. We just have to figure out what that was," Lloyd assured her. "Hey, listen. This isn't over yet. Scarlett's one of us, whether she likes it or not."
Mia sniffled again, looking up from her pillow. "Y- Yeah?"
"Yeah." Lloyd nodded. "Don't worry, we'll figure out what happened. We never talked about her being the weakest link—the shadows must have something to do with this."
"Yeah, but... how are we going to convince her of that?" Mia asked. She lifted her face from the pillow, quickly letting her head fall into his chest as she embraced him. "Lloyd, I don't... I don't wanna lose her."
"You won't," be promised her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "None of us want to lose her... and I think a specific someone might be able to convince her to stay."
* * *
Scarlett stuffed her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, looking out from the deck. She waited for the Bounty to stop, but it didn't seem like it would. Not for a while, at least.
Even without much training being done with her, she was able to tell who was sneaking up behind her without turning around. "What do you want, Kai?"
"I want to know what the hell's going on," he answered, standing next to her.
Scarlett only scoffed, not batting an eye to him. "You tell me."
"Look, Scar, I don't know what those shadows told you—"
"The truth. They told me the truth. God, I had my suspicions and doubts since the beginning, but I can't believe the enemy told me!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, still not turning around.
"That's not the truth. None of us ever thought that way, and we still don't," Kai said, calmly. "I swear. Why would any of us ever say that to you? Why would I ever say that to you?"
"You'd believe the amount of people that have said that to me. You're all the same. The same liars." She bit her lip, crossing her arms now. "I can't trust anyone."
"Yes, you can." Kai tried reaching out for her, but she yanked her hand away—now she faced him. and she tried to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling.
"Don't you fucking touch me. Don't try and be heroic and make this right," she snapped, taking a few steps back. "I don't care if this thing doesn't stop, I'm done... I'm out of here."
"We need you, Scarlett. You're one of the—"
"Oh, cut the bull crap, Kai." He had never seen her be so aggressive, he didn't think it was in her nature. "You know just as well as everyone else that you don't need me—you have your shining redhead just down the hall."
"What is up with you? Do you have a grudge against her or something?" Kai couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, as this wasn't the first time he's heard something like this out of her.
"I do now. And with all of you, too." Scarlett left without another word—she was done with all of them, and whenever the Bounty landed, she'd take her leave.
Kai watched, unable to stop her. He rested his arms, holding his forehead with his hand. "Shit..."
* * *
Scarlett didn't think the Bounty wouldn't stop until late night.
Everyone was asleep, all afraid to talk to her after what happened. Of course, she had to share a room with Mia, so she waited until she was completely asleep.
She got to her feet, resting her scarlet gi out on the bed and grabbing a knife from under her bed. She's learned one thing from being a ninja-in-training—always be prepared.
The dark-haired teen tucked the knife under her sleeve, walking over to the door. Just as she was about to open it and call it quits, she heard a voice.
"Please, Scarlett... don't do this."
Mia was awake, looking at her friend—ex-friend? No, that's not how she thought of Scarlett. She was still very dear to her, but it seemed that the latter thought the opposite.
"Am I really that loud?"
"No, I just couldn't sleep... I kept thinking I'd lose you if I didn't keep an eye out," the redhead answered, sitting up.
Scarlett frowned a bit, walking over to her. She got on her knees, putting a hand to her head and stroking her hair gently. "M, I'm just getting some fresh air. I'm sorry for the way I acted... I was hurt."
"No, no... it's my fault! I should've brought the boys sooner to come get you, we could've saved you before those shadows put those awful things in your head..." Mia felt her spirits being lifted up slightly—her friend was talking to her, and not being aggressive, too.
"Hey, hey... get some sleep. I'll be back here by the time you wake up again in the morning, okay? And we can all talk about it... forgive each other," Scarlett told her, smiling a bit. "But I need you to get some sleep. You need it."
Mia yawned, nodding slowly. "Are... are you okay, Scar?"
"I will be. Trust me, I will be..." the dark-haired teen answered her.
With those words, Mia felt satisfied and she rested her head back on the pillow, snuggling in the blankets. She smiled a bit, falling asleep just as fast as she had woken up.
Scarlett's smile dropped, and she got to her feet once more. She quietly opened the door and closed it, whispering to herself, "Must hurt to be lied to, doesn't it?"
She then climbed onto the rail, jumping off and landing on a tree, sliding down the trunk and looking up at the Bounty one last time before taking off in a sprint.
* * *
The next morning, Mia was the last one to walk into the kitchen. She sleepily rubbed her eyes, the group exchanging good mornings to each other.
"Is Scarlett still sleeping?" Kai asked.
"Oh... I didn't even look." Mia turned around, seeing nothing but the empty hall. "She said she'd be here by morning."
Cole raised an eyebrow at her, pouring himself a glass of milk. "Did she now?"
Mia walked back to her room, opening the door to find both beds empty. Her gi was laid out on her bed, and her eyes widened a bit.
"Oh no... she didn't."
The redhead ran back into the kitchen. "She's gone!"
"Gone? When could she have left?" Zane questioned.
"I... I don't know." Mia began replaying the conversation they had last night—although faint, it was all slowly coming back.
"Am I really that loud?"
"No, I just couldn't sleep... I kept thinking I'd lose you if I didn't keep an eye out."
"M, I'm just getting some fresh air. I'm sorry for the way I acted... I was hurt."
"No, no... it's my fault! I should've brought the boys sooner to come get you, we could've saved you before those shadows put those awful things in your head..."
"Hey, hey... get some sleep. I'll be back here by the time you wake up again in the morning, okay? And we can all talk about it... forgive each other. But I need you to get some sleep. You need it."
"Are... are you okay, Scar?"
"I will be. Trust me, I will be..."
And that was the last she saw her before she left.
"She... she lied to me," Mia mumbled, frowning. "She told me she'd be here by morning, so we can talk about it and forgive..."
"That's... that's kinda cruel." Jay crossed his arms. "She just straight up lied to you in the middle of the night."
Kai elbowed him.
"God, if only I had been more aware, maybe she'd still be here..."
"M, stop blaming yourself. She had a grudge on all of us because of those shadows," Lloyd told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Unfortunately... she would've found a way to leave either way."
"None of us could stop her. She was... really upset. What did she tell you again?" Kai asked the redhead.
She answered, "Um... she told me that we just hang around talking about how weak she is. That we should defeat them on our own if she's just the weakest link."
"Sounds awfully familiar." Cole sighed, rubbing his forehead. "They took advantage of all the doubts in her mind and used it against us—and now she thinks we're the enemy."
"I can't live with that! No, I have to make things right." Mia frantically shook her head, trying to run out of the kitchen.
But the fire ninja grabbed her arm, yanking her back. "Mia, do you think I don't want to go get her back? Having Scarlett hate me isn't something I want."
"And what do you plan on doing about it?"
"Running to her and begging for her forgiveness will only make her believe that we did speak badly of her," Zane explained. "And trying to explain our situation will only lead her to hate us even more, because she won't believe it."
"Zane, those are both negative outcomes," Jay inputted.
"I am aware—which is why we need solid, concrete proof that none of us think that of her. Because this will go on for eternity if she still has these doubts in her mind."
"Yeah, you're right..." Lloyd nodded, agreeing. "Even if we did manage to get her back, what good would it do if she's still distant with us because of what she thinks we think?"
"Her emotions getting the best of her is a huge advantage to the shadows," Cole added. "If she hates us, she won't want to be near us, and that makes her a much easier target for them."
They all froze, thinking about his words.
"Wait a minute... so if she's running free without elemental powers or anyone to defend her..." Jay began.
Kai's eyes widened at the realization. "Then she's in more danger than before! We have to find her before they do."
"I'm with you!" Mia nodded, a determined look in her eyes. "Her protection comes first—we can figure out how to win her over again after we make sure the shadows don't have her."
"I'll go tell Nya to start her up!" Jay ran out of the kitchen without a second thought, finding the samurai in the Bridge.
Mia frowned at the group with a sigh. Oh, Scarlett... could you ever forgive me?
Once they landed at the city, the group set out to find their friend.
"Okay, we should split up. We'll cover more ground. Jay and Nya, Mia and Lloyd, and then Cole, Zane and I will triple up. Sound good?" Kai looked to his team.
The others nodded, and they all ran in separate directions to cover more ground.
Lloyd and Mia decided to go to the first place they could think of—her apartment.
"Hard to believe we lived right next to each other, huh?" Mia smiled a bit, shaking her head. "Now it's just..."
Lloyd put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, don't worry. We'll get her back... I promise you."
They walked into the building, not hesitating to go to Mia's apartment, because Scarlett was just a few doors down. The redhead knocked on her door, but received no answer.
"Scarlett?" she tried calling, but that didn't work either. "Scarlett, can you please come out?"
"Maybe she's not in there." Lloyd shrugged. "If she was, I'm sure she would've told us to go away, at least."
"Yeah... yeah, you're right. Let's go." Mia practically dragged the green ninja out of there just as the door opened—but it wasn't Scarlett that came out of it.
Kai, Cole, and Zane searched more south of Ninjago, but came up empty handed. Kai sighed, but refused to give up.
"You really like her, huh?" Cole crossed his arms, seeing his exasperated reaction.
"Of course I do. She's our friend, isn't she?"
"But you wish for a type of relationship that is more than a friend, no?" Zane easily read the fire ninja, leaving him to sigh again.
"Come on, she's cute. And... I don't really know her as much as I'd like to, but I want to change that. I can't do that if she's not here," he explained. "It was actually extremely complicated to do that even when she was here, honestly."
"Fair enough." Cole nodded, although he soon smirked. "So how long have you had the hots for her?"
"We can talk about this later, Cole. Right now, finding her before the shadows do is way more important!"
* * *
"No powers, no friends to talk to, no ninja crap... no problem," Scarlett told herself as she walked through the city, tying up her hair in a ponytail.
As she was walking, she bumped into somebody. The raven-haired teen almost fell back, but the brunette did.
"Oh! Sorry about that."
Scarlett looked up to see a pretty brunette girl with eyes and a face all too familiar. She squinted a bit before shaking her head.
"No, don't worry about it." The brunette waved her off, smiling. "I was just in a rush, is all. Well... have a good day, then."
Scarlett watched as she speedily walked off, holding her purse. She tilted her head a bit, shrugging before returning back to her leisure.
Maybe she could find new friends that won't lie to her.
As she walked through the city, something caught her eye near an alley.
"Oh, no. I don't do alleys," she told herself. All those movies? That's how people die, by going into alleyways!
But her curiosity bit her in the ass and Scarlett slowly stepped toward it. She had a bad feeling, she should've stayed away because it was an alley, but she just had to see if it was true.
Once reaching the entrance, she found nothing but her own shadow. She laughed at herself for being so paranoid and was going to walk off when she heard a hiss.
Her eyes widened and she turned around, seeing a shadow rising from her own. Without a second thought, the dark-haired teen just ran off, not once turning back.
"Oh shit, it's back..." she said to herself, panicked. "What do I do? Run!"
Scarlett couldn't offer herself any more advice, but she wanted to get to a public place as fast as she could. She knew the shadows wouldn't attack in one of those yet.
The first thing she found was an arcade. and as soon as she opened the doors, she heard the shadow hissing, "You can't escape us."
Scarlett almost whimpered as she shut the door behind her, sighing in relief when she heard nothing else but the sound of little kids running around and playing.
She remembered playing video games with Jay a few weeks back and she frowned a bit, her gaze falling to the ground.
"You don't look like much of a player."
The voice startled her, but it was just a boy around her age—taller, with dark brown hair and bright eyes.
"Sorry, I—what?"
The boy put his hands in his pockets, laughing a bit. "Sorry, you seemed lost. Are you new to the city?"
"I've actually known Ninjago most of my life," Scarlett answered him, turning around to actually face him. She smiled, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "And for the record... I'm pretty good at video games."
"Good to know." He held out his hand to her. "Really rare to see a pretty girl come in here alone. I'm Leo, by the way."
Scarlett smiled at the compliment, shaking his hand. "Thank you... I'm Scarlett."
"If you say you're so good... why not give it a go?" Leo offered her.
"Oh, I don't have money on me right now—" But before she could finish, he pulled out his wallet, and seemed to have a lot of cash in there. "You definitely have to tell me where you work."
"Part-time, but I'll be sure to let you know." Leo chuckled, walking with her to the counter to buy. "This is on me."
Scarlett only smiled in response. Nice guy, good-looking guy... life's already doing me well.