Chapter Text
A loud growl pierces the air, claws scrape against something tougher, sounding like nails on a chalkboard. He sees a glimpse of a mountain and a lake below. A calm image before he feels like he's been lit on fire. The dragon growls again more loudly this time. A horrific, pained wail, like a cry for help that is so loud and terrifying that he wants to cover his ears.
Something's wrong.
Lloyd is no stranger to waking up screaming, it's the only way he ever seems to wake up. Each time is the same; shooting into a sitting position, sometimes screaming (although that's happening less recently), and gasping for air. He hadn't had a night this bad in a while. He could've let go of his hatred for sleep, but this night is another reminder of how bad it can be.
He sits there, clutching at his heart through his shirt, trying to even out his breathing and allow the visions fade from his mind—flashes and blurs of who knows what—none of which made the slightest bit of sense. He doesn't even remember what he saw anymore, all he can comprehend is the paralyzing fear that remained. His hand finds the hilt again, mind itching for the mixture of numbness and pain from before. A wave of shame washes over him; he shouldn't be doing this. Half of him feels like throwing up, but the other half makes him do it anyway, more forcefully than last time, since he deserves it and...
Now that he's wide awake, he definitely can't go back to sleep anytime soon.
Moonlight seeps through the sliding door to the outside, casting glowing blue rectangles across the middle of the floor. It's disappointing; it must be nowhere near dawn. He wonders how long he slept, that is, if he got much sleep at all.
Lloyd breathes out a trembling sigh, no longer feeling his heart pounding out of his chest so much anymore, and he lets his stinging arms drop to the blankets at his sides where he sits on the bed. If he can't go back to sleep, he might as well make some tea. Quietly. Maybe some tea will help him relax.
He walks to the kitchen and begins heating up water on the stove, then sits on one of the island stools and rests the side of his face on the marble countertop, feeling the cool smooth surface beneath his cheek. It's oddly comfortable, and his eyelids feel so heavy, maybe he can close them for just a moment...
No.
Despite the comforting feeling of letting himself sleep, he remembers the visions and forces himself back into awareness. The room spins and Lloyd feels like he's falling through the table. He snaps his head up, eyes wide with forced alertness. Rontu wouldn't approve of him losing this much progress, but he can't help it, he can't handle more visions.
He forces himself to stand, pour the water into a cup, and drops a teabag in it, stirring it with a spoon. The spoon clinking against the inside of the cup slows as he becomes sleepier.
From somewhere behind him, a floorboard creaks and he snaps his head around, startled. A familiar pink-haired teenager stands at the doorway, the dim light from the room behind her glows around her slouched form. Which is odd, because everyone should be asleep right now.
"Oh, hey Sora," some tension leaves Lloyd's shoulders, his lips turning up in a small relieved smile. "Thank goodness. Why—" are you awake?
"You don't look so good," Sora cuts him off sleepily, walking past Lloyd.
Lloyd frowns.
"You can barely see me!" he protests weakly, at a loss for words.
"I just know," Sora says confidently as she opens the refrigerator door, casting a gentle glow across the kitchen. She glances back. "Eye bags.”
Her tangled pink hair is untied, falling loose over her shoulders messily. She's wearing her usual cat-themed pajamas and cat slippers. Maybe she was asleep, or maybe she was pulling an all-nighter! …Which would earn her a lecture about healthy sleep schedules.
“You’ll get them if you’re always awake at this time too,” Lloyd reminds her.
“Yours aren’t that bad. I’ll live.”
“I’m flattered.”
She grabs a box of strawberries and freezes, shielding her eyes with her other hand. Lloyd takes the box out for her, then closes the refrigerator door, leaving the room dim again.
"Thanks." Sora sits on one of the stools beside the kitchen island, drawing her knees to her chin. How she managed to balance like that was beyond comprehension. "I'm still sensitive to bright lights and sounds and stuff."
Lloyd tenses. Guilt twists in his stomach, heavy and sickening. It's all his fault, but he can't dwell on that right now or he'll break. He knows what to do, so he focuses on that instead.
"I should tell you what happened.”
Or, he should've already, but better late than never, right?
Sora doesn't say anything, but she nods and listens intently as Lloyd recalls the events from the previous day, only, something is off. She keeps the same expression the entire time, not once expressing anything other than a blank receptive nod.
It's so unlike her that it catches Lloyd off guard. He stumbles over his words, going back and repeating sentences he couldn't finish, all while he carefully scans her face for something- anything- to hint at how she feels.
"Sora, I'm so sorry. I almost lost you, you could've..." died. But he can't finish the sentence, the word dies on his tongue. "I shouldn't have lied to you, Sora,"
Sora puts a plate of strawberries on the kitchen island, leans on it, and shoves a strawberry in her mouth, leaves and all, and chews it. "There's nothing you could've done, Lloyd. It was that stupid cave. There should've been a sign on the floor like, 'Caution, wet ceiling', or something. Wait, no. Fragile ceiling. Pfft."
She's behaving strangely, Lloyd notes. Too unserious compared to how she usually acts. It could possibly be a concussion symptom, but he doubts it.
Lloyd walks over to the island, sitting down face to face with his student, "I'm sorry. It's okay to be mad at me, please be mad. You have every right to be."
He's almost pleading for a normal reaction, something, anything that could make up for what he did. He doesn't want to lose another student.
Sora's expression goes blank, unreadable. "I understand why you didn't tell me, and..." she trails off, then looks down at the container of strawberries in front of her, "I was mad, I think, but I shouldn't be."
She's feeling guilty about something, Lloyd notes, but there's nothing she needs to feel bad about.
"You should be mad at me—"
Sora grips the side of the countertop so tightly that her fingers turn red and white, trembling slightly. "No, really, I understand. During that fight under the Blood Moon, I made Arin think he used Object Spinjitsu on Ras. I lied to him. I wanted him to feel like he was a useful part of the team, especially after training with Egalt and Rontu."
Lloyd wants to tell Sora that it's not her fault and that she shouldn't blame herself, but he doesn't interrupt her.
Sora wraps her arms tightly around herself and sighs. "Arin hates me and it could've been avoided if I didn't lie to him. You wanted to hide the truth from me and I can't hold that against you, but I keep making up worst-case scenarios in my head," she grips the sides of her head as she overthinks out loud. "What if Arin really, really, really hates me?! I'm the reason he left! Anything that happens to him now is my fault."
She bows her head, pink strands of loose hair falling down over her face, and Lloyd slowly places a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Arin might be mad, but you're still his best friend. He doesn't hate you," Lloyd insists. "Besides, you only wanted to help."
Sora lifts her head to look at Lloyd, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
"Then why does it feel like he hates me?"
She's putting too much pressure on herself. Now where could she have possibly gotten that from?
Lloyd opens his mouth to speak, something warm and reassuring at the tip of his tongue, then a sudden loud sound in the previously quiet monastery causes him and Sora to flinch. The sound came from down the hall. Lloyd looks at Sora, who looks back at him and then they both slip out of the kitchen to investigate.
The doors to the game room are wide open, Cole stands in the middle of the now-ransacked room. A cold night breeze sends a draft through the room and Lloyd shudders.
"We need to go after him!!" Cole shouts, panting. He has the reversal blade remains clutched tightly under his knuckles.
Lloyd's eyes dart around the room and to the broken window, which faces the fence that blocks the edge of the cliff from view. "After who?"
Before Cole can answer, someone enters the weapons room, mouth open in the middle of a yawn—their hair sticks in all different directions like a porcupine.
"Cole!" Kai groans, rubbing his eyes as he complains, "At specifically midnight, every night, you always eat the entire fridge! What are you, the great devourer?" He pauses and looks around too, confused. "What, did you eat the dragon icon too?"
Lloyd's eyes dart around the room, the sword nowhere to be seen. He does notice Riyu creeping around in silent curiosity behind the doorway.
"Sure, Kai, it was delicious," Cole scoffs, before becoming serious. "Arin stole it!"
Unfortunately, Lloyd isn't surprised. If only he knew what Arin was up to. Whatever it is, it can't be good.
"Arin was here?! We have to go after him!" Lloyd exclaims, looking between Cole and Kai. "Not you Sora, you need rest."
Sora folds her arms tightly and looks away from Lloyd, her eyebrows drawn together with her lips pursed. She doesn't say anything.
Uncertainty twists in Lloyd's chest and he freezes. What if it's better if Sora comes along? What if he makes the wrong call? What if- He silently lets out a breath, letting his swirling doubts come to a halt. Right now he needs to know what Arin's doing with the dragon icon.
Bright blue and purple lightning strikes soundlessly in the distant clouds. Warm, moist air whips at the sides of Lloyd's face, blowing his blonde hair into his eyes as he holds onto the dragon he's riding. Cole, Kai, and Zane fly beside him. They've been traveling for some time and only now does anything interesting happen. A loud growl pierces the air from below, unmistakably from a dragon.
The ninjas' dragons descend and as they approach the top of a short mountain, Lloyd gets a better view of it. His head spins with deja vu; he's seen this before in a vision.
Under the light of the cage, the familiar red and orange scales of a familiar dragon in its mortal form glisten, imprisoned in a holographic cage, a typical imperium style when it comes to technology and cruelty towards dragons.
"It's the motion source dragon!" Lloyd exclaims. He notices someone else beside the dragon's cage. Their clothing is a familiar shade of orange, and Lloyd's not surprised. It still hurts though. "...And Arin."
The dragons land on the grass and Lloyd jumps down, followed by Cole and Kai. Zane waits by the dragons just in case. Somehow, Arin doesn't turn around, and Lloyd frowns, hand signaling for Cole and Kai to wait. It doesn't make sense for Arin to not notice them. Well, it's possible, but Lloyd doubts it.
He looks closer at the dragon and the cage it's in. The cage has clear pipes coming out of it and leading to glass vials, and slowly running through them to the vials is a glimmering gold substance; Dragon energy.
Lloyd begins to walk towards Arin, cautiously, but he doesn't make a move to reach for his dao.
"Arin, what are you doing?" Lloyd asks when he's in hearing range, but still a distance away.
'Source dragon energy is a very powerful thing,' the motion source dragon's voice booms telepathically in Lloyd's head, startling him. 'In the wrong hands, it can... well you can use your imagination.'
The younger ninja, who was fidgeting with putting the cap on a full bottle of dragon energy, stills. He doesn't do anything for a moment, then gets back to draining the dragon's energy. When Arin speaks, he doesn't turn around. His voice is barely above a whisper, and it takes Lloyd a moment to process what he says.
"Go away, Lloyd."
Unsure of what to do, Lloyd squeezes his fists tightly and relaxes them, trying to clear his mind for good ideas. He observes his surroundings. Laying on the ground by Arin's shoes is a key, presumably a key to the cage, but Lloyd doesn't necessarily need a key to free the dragon.
Lloyd walks towards the cage and feels a hand behind him yank him back by the gi. Tight hands spin him around and he's turned face to face with Kai and Cole.
"What are you doing!" Kai whisper-screams. "Do you have a plan? Wait. You're not the leader anymore- I think. Do I have a plan?"
"I have a plan—" Lloyd whispers.
Cole gasps. "What's the plan?"
"—I wasn't done talking!"
Cole and Kai's eyes stare into Lloyd's like lasers, listening carefully.
"Remember that thing I did to set all the dragons free in imperium?"
Kai says "Kind of" which overlaps with Cole saying "No" at the same time.
"Just— Trust me!" Lloyd rushes. "Stay back!"
He turns toward the dragon and hears Kai say something about being glad that he's being more confident again. Lloyd doesn't feel confident though, but he does know how to be a conduit to dragon energy.
As Lloyd approaches the cage, Arin suddenly takes a defensive stance.
"I told you to go away."
"And you thought I'd go away?" Lloyd gives him a small smile. He reaches for the cage and touches it.
The last normal thing he sees is Arin trying to stop him.
And then he's in the mind space where he typically sees visions, only, it's just the source dragon this time.
"Thank you for freeing me, Lloyd," the source dragon explains. "I'm reminded daily why we source dragons don't usually involve ourselves in mortal affairs aside from these dire times.”
The source dragon disappears from the cage in a bright flash of light, causing a shockwave that throws the ninjas in directions away from the cage, minus Lloyd, who's floating.
Arin flies far backward, approaching the very edge of the mountain. He reaches out and grabs onto the only thing he can hang onto; grass and dirt. It doesn't do much other than shove dirt under his nails.
The fall only takes a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity, feeling the tingly sensation of falling faster than his internal organs. He can't help but scream.
Arin hits the water. The surface feels hard like concrete, slamming into his knees and legs first, fully submerging him in the lake. He goes weightless in the cold water, surrounded by dark blurry things that he can't see well. Looking up, he can't see the surface. His heart pounds and bubbles escape his mouth and nose; he must be deep underwater. He flails his arms and legs, attempting to propel himself towards a surface he can't see, but he's so tired that he's getting nowhere.
His lungs burn, begging for air. He shouldn't breathe, but he has to breathe. He sucks in a big breath of water against his will and chokes, swallowing down the water instead by reflex. It's not air that he breathed but he needs air so badly. He can't breathe.
Exhaustion weighs him down, keeping him from swimming. He's so tired. The dark water around him is getting dimmer, fading away, and he quits. He gives up on trying to swim, it's not like it'll help anyway.
It's strangely peaceful in a way, floating in the dark water alone in silence—fuzzy plants from the bottom of the lake brush against his sides like blankets—he's going to die here, but he's okay with it. He relaxes and lets the darkness take him away, but it doesn't last long.
His awareness comes back in a haze. He's so cold. Everything hurts. It hurts to breathe.
Arin coughs and chokes up so much water. He keeps coughing up the water until he's dry heaving. His nose feels like it's on fire.
Someone supports him while he coughs. Through Arin’s blurry vision, he can see the wet pink hair that sticks to her face, and her familiar pink-and-white gi which is also soaked. It’s Sora, she must’ve been the one who just saved him. Arin tries to call out to her, but all he can do is gasp and continue coughing. And then his vision fades to black again.
Kai's the one who catches Lloyd this time when his eyes no longer glow and he stops floating.
“Holy shit is he okay??” Cole exclaims, eyebrows drawn together and eyes wide like a hamster. “What was that?! You two are acting like this is completely normal!”
“Yeah this is totally normal.”
”What Kai means to say is that this has happened before and Lloyd will most likely be okay,” Zane helpfully explains.
"I really need to work out again," Kai says, adjusting Lloyd in his hold. "Unless Master Wu is actively chasing after me with his staff I kinda have a hard time forcing myself to hit arms. Ya know?"
Zane facepalms. "I can take him off your hands for you, Kai."
"Please do."
After handing Lloyd over to Zane, Kai messes up Lloyd's hair. "Sleeping. Like a baby," he teases.
"Lloyd's temperature seems unusually high," Zane notes. "I'm going to run a scan to determine the cause."
Kai and Cole's eyes widen in concern.
"Oh, okay." Kai looks around as he waits for Zane to finish the scan. "Wait, where's Arin?"
After a pause, Zane concludes. "First, I detect traces of some kind of dragon poison on Lloyd. It is not in my database, but the best course of action would be to take him back to the monastery so I can further examine him." He thinks for a moment. "Aside from that, perhaps Arin ran off?"
"He's probably fine. Let's take Lloyd back to the monastery," Kai agrees.
They go back to the dragons, and Kai notices another dragon flying towards them. "Is that Riyu? And Arin?"
Riyu lands in the grass by the other dragons, with Sora, holding tightly holding onto Arin while they both have water dripping off of their clothes.
“And Sora! Do none of our students stay behind when they're injured?" Kai exclaims, throwing his hands to the back of his head in shock.
"What happened to Lloyd?" Sora asks, visibly shivering.
Zane opens his mouth to begin a long explanation, but Kai beats him to it.
"What didn't happen to him?" Kai groans. He glances at Arin. "What happened to Arin?"
Sora grimaces. "Almost drowned."
"In that case, I have to check for water in his lungs," Zane frowns. "Thank you, Sora."
"Well. Let's go back to the monastery," Kai turns to Lloyd, who can't hear him, but he adds it quietly anyway, "boogers."