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Watching Lloyd deploy an entirely different fighting strategy than she’d seen previously, Sora wondered why he kept running from the fight instead of facing it head-on.
After the intermission while the bots repaired the battle bridge, the other Ninja tried to give Lloyd words of encouragement. Lloyd looked troubled and distracted, not quite there in the moment—not good for a fight. Sora felt bad, but he needed to hear the truth.
“You’re losing, Lloyd,” she told him bluntly, pushing her way to the front and staring intensely down at her mentor. “But not to her. You’re losing to your own fear.”
As soon as the words were out, Sora wanted to take it back. When Lloyd glanced up at her, obviously exhausted and apprehensive, she realized that the other Ninja might be right—he needed encouragement to continue. He looked down again with a sigh. “You’re right,” he admitted, and relief flitted through Sora’s mind. He wasn’t angry at her. “But how do I fight a battle I’ve seen myself lose?”
Sora offered a water bottle, which he took gratefully. “When I faced Cinder,” she replied, “you told me not to make my fear a self-fulfilling prophecy.” She smiled at the memory of the battle. “And I won! Ninja don’t fight because we know we’ll win.” She glanced sideways at Cole and Zane to see if they wanted to interject, but both watched her with matching grins. Returning her attention to Lloyd, she finished, “We do it because some things are worth fighting for—no matter what the outcome is.”
A brief silence followed, and Sora wondered if she’d crossed a line.
But then Lloyd caved with a sheepish smile. “Guess I should take my own advice,” he breathed.
As he stood, Cole playfully nudged his shoulder. “You have a habit of not doing that,” the older Ninja teased. Lloyd scoffed and lightly shoved back, earning a laugh from the Earth Ninja.
Unfortunately, that was all the time they had to spare, as the repair bots flew away from the bridge and Roby resumed his livestream. Lloyd glanced once more at Sora, then ran over to his platform to reenter the fight.
This time, he pushed back.
And it wasn’t long before Zeatrix fell off the platform with a scream, and Lloyd stood victor. On the ground, Sora and the others cheered for the Green Ninja.
The Master of Technology buzzed with joy, knowing her advice was what helped push Lloyd to winning. Not the other Ninja this time. Her.
Zeatrix wouldn’t be too happy—
…Where was she?
“Wait, stop!” Roby’s cry drew her attention skyward, where Zeatrix had launched herself back up to the platform using Euphrasia’s wind. “The game’s already over!”
Zeatrix, still holding the sword.
“Lloyd!” Sora screeched, cupping her hands over her mouth to make her voice louder. “Look out!”
Her mentor turned too slow.
Zeatrix struck.
Cold horror washed out any elation Sora had felt previously as the force of the impact knocked Lloyd off the platform with a weak cry. The Ninja surged forward, Sora right with them, but they couldn’t reach Lloyd before he hit the ground. Shards of the sword fell down around him, but Sora’s gaze remained on the gash across Lloyd’s chest, purple blood soaking into his gi. Sora froze in horror, barely even registering the weird color of her mentor’s blood.
Lloyd’s eyes fluttered as he gasped shakily for breath. Cole and Zane crouched on either side of him, whispering frantically, trying to get him to stay awake. Around them, security bots buzzed around, ushering the crowd away and keeping unwanted eyes away.
Sora could only watch as Lloyd went limp, eyes closing, face pinched with pain.
Behind her, Wyldfyre howled in anger, but Sora wasn’t paying attention. She felt her hands shaking, her mouth went dry, her eyes hurt from staring so long but she couldn’t bring herself to blink.
She’d never seen anyone this injured before…not even when Lloyd used the Source Dragon’s power and put himself into a coma. He hadn’t been bleeding out, just tired.
His blood dripped onto the stones underfoot.
Cole reached forward with a shaky hand—despite the short time Sora had known him, he’d never been shaky—and gingerly plucked a shard of the sword from Lloyd’s hair. His face was pale with fear, one hand clutching the metal fragment while the other held onto Lloyd’s hand.
On the other side of the fallen Ninja, Zane watched the security guards. There weren’t very many of them, and they were all keeping the crowd back or securing Zeatrix in handcuffs. There weren’t enough to help Lloyd.
Sora barely noticed he was looking at her until he spoke her name. “Sora,” the nindroid called urgently. He was carefully pulling Lloyd’s torn gi away from his body, exposing the wound. “Come here.”
The young Ninja felt like she was floating as she slowly joined the adults, unable to tear her gaze away from Lloyd. He was so pale already, blood on the corners of his lips and spreading from the wound.
“This needs to be cauterized,” Zane told her, his voice firm and steady. Sora finally looked up, only to give the nindroid a dazed but confused look. “Normally, Kai could do it. But he is not here. I would never ask you to do this if we had any other choice.”
Cold once again settled in Sora’s bones and she backed away. “N-no,” she gasped out. “I-I can’t—”
“You have the only other fire,” Zane insisted, reaching for her hand. His were so much warmer than normal, but the smooth metal grounded the panicking Master of Technology. “You must.”
“I can’t,” Sora repeated, shaking, tears blurring her vision.
A heavy hand settled on her shoulder, and her eyes snapped to Cole. Even without words, the Earth Ninja’s round eyes and desperate expression was—
He was begging her.
A raspy hiss of pain drew her attention back to Lloyd. Lloyd, her mentor, who took her in and trained her and loved her, dying because she was too scared to hurt him more.
She didn’t try to stop the tears cascading down her cheeks as she dropped to her knees beside the wounded Ninja. She felt the heat inside her and called on it, and whereas before she didn’t quite know how to use Wyldfyre’s powers, now they responded easily as her hands burst into blue and orange flames.
Cole’s grip remained firm on her shoulder as her trembling hands hovered over the wound. She halted, breathing shaky and rapid with horror of what she was about to do.
“You can do it, Sora,” Zane told her, blue eyes piercing. They didn’t have a lot of time left. Yet his expression remained steadfast.
I’m sorry, Lloyd.
With a cry, Sora pressed her burning hands onto the wound.
She almost backed out when Lloyd tensed, eyes flying open as he screamed. His body thrashed, trying to get away, but quick and careful action from Zane and Cole pinned his arms and legs. Wyldfyre, unusually serious, ran over and held her hands beneath his head so he wouldn’t hit it on the ground.
Sora could barely see through her tears. As soon as the first half of the wound had burned closed, she moved her hands to the lower half. Lloyd was still trying to free himself, small gasps of “Stop!” making it through the screams. Sora could barely breathe through her panic.
She didn’t know how much time passed before Zane told her to stop. Sora immediately retracted the fire and pushed away from Lloyd. He went limp again in a dead faint, not even pain reflecting in his expression.
Zane’s eyes flashed as he performed some kind of scan. Cole sent Sora a weak smile in thanks, which she couldn’t return, staring at her hands covered in blood. Lloyd’s blood. Her mind went numb.
The only movement she made when Wyldfyre engulfed her in a tight hug was letting her hands drop to her knees. Her eyes remained wide, unable to see properly yet replaying the last minute on vivid repetition in her mind.
The next thing she knew, more robots arrived with a stretcher to take Lloyd to get proper medical care. Zane and Cole gently lifted Lloyd onto the stretcher, the former leaving with the bots to ensure Lloyd’s safety and care. Cole crouched in front of Sora, softly calling her name.
“—ra. Sora.” The Earth Ninja repeated, his motions slow as he touched her arm. Sora flinched and looked up at Cole, her eyes dry. She’d cried herself out. “There you go.” Cole’s expression, while trying to remain calm, was haunted. “Thank you.”
When Sora began shaking again, Wyldfyre clung tighter to her body. “I-I-I—” she could barely speak, even breathe. “I hurt him,” she rasped.
Cole shifted closer and grabbed her hands, not caring about the blood on her gloves. “You saved him,” the older Ninja countered. “He’ll—” His voice broke and he had to inhale shakily before continuing. “He’ll heal.”
When more bots buzzed around them, waiting to clean up, Cole stood. Wyldfyre released Sora only long enough for her to rise on unsteady feet, then clung to her arm. “Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?” Cole prompted gently.
Sora nodded dazedly and let the other two guide her away.
***
Back at their shared room, still not mentally present, Sora let Wyldfyre pull her to the bathroom. The dragon child was unusually quiet, lips pressed tightly together and gaze steadily forward. Cole wandered off when he spotted Geo pacing frantically as he waited for them to return.
Wyldfyre tugged Sora to the sink and turned on the warm water. As soon as she was satisfied with the temperature, she removed Sora’s gloves and tossed them into the trash, then guided her hands underneath the water. Not once did she say a word.
Sora stared numbly as the warm water turned purple as it washed the blood off her hands and wrists. She could barely feel the water as it spilled between her fingers. Wyldfyre rubbed soap onto her skin and waited until it had completely washed away before she shut off the water and wrapped a towel around Sora’s hands and arms.
When they returned to the room, Wyldfyre made Sora sit on her bed as the former tugged Sora’s hairband out and started fingering through her pink hair.
Sora eventually, slowly, found herself relaxing as Wyldfyre continued to tidy her previously messy hair. Aches from the battles she’d fought caught up to her, leaving her sore and stiff, but she still couldn’t get the image out of her head of her burning Lloyd. She still heard his agonized scream.
When the door opened, revealing Arin and Riyu, Cole and Geo’s quiet murmuring went silent as grief weighed down on them again.
“What happened?” Arin demanded. “There were so many people yelling—” He paused, doing a once-over of the room. “Where are Lloyd and Zane?”
Sora’s eyes welled with tears again and she looked down, refusing to meet Arin’s eye. Cole approached the orange-clad teen and spoke in a hushed voice. Pounding footsteps were the only warning Sora had before Arin collided with her.
And any previous misgivings they had with one another vanished as Arin clung to her, and Sora weakly wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder.
Riyu cooed worriedly and pressed his head to Sora’s. She turned her face towards him and his rough but gentle tongue licked her cheeks, wiping away her tears.
Eventually, Sora’s head dropped heavily against Arin’s shoulder as her eyes closed. She exhaled shakily, utterly exhausted now that her emotions were clearing up somewhat.
She was dimly aware of herself lowering to the bed, and the lights overhead dimming, and bodies piled around hers. Someone may have told her something, but she was already half-asleep when the words washed over her.
Arin grabbed her hands and Wyldfyre draped her arm over the pink-haired teen. Riyu’s wing spread over her like a leathery blanket.
And sleep dragged her away.
***
Commotion and movement woke the teen. She didn’t feel any better and the room was still dark, so she hadn’t slept for long—but it was darker than before, so it had to be at least a couple of hours. Arin and Riyu were in the middle of getting to their feet, but Wyldfyre stayed with Sora. The lights in the room brightened as two bots and Zane appeared in the doorway.
And a stretcher between the two bots.
Sora scrambled to her feet, breath catching in her throat. Zane, expression betraying his fatigue, led the bots to Lloyd’s bed. They gently lowered the stretcher, and with Cole’s help, Zane gently lifted the limp Green Ninja onto the mattress. Zane nodded his thanks to the bots and they left with the stretcher.
Sora ran over, Arin at her side, eyes wide. Lloyd was still pale, but his breathing was steady—though still shallow and raspy—and his chest was wrapped tightly with gauze. Smaller bandages covered the scratches he’d gotten from the sword fragments landing on him.
“Zane?” Sora demanded shakily, the first time she’d spoken since she’d had to burn Lloyd.
The nindroid exhaled deeply. Cole gave him a worried look and moved closer in support. “His condition is stable,” Zane replied tiredly. “His powers are helping heal him.”
Sora glanced down at her mentor again, biting her lip as she scanned the gauze on his chest. There was no sign of the burn, which she supposed was a good thing. She didn’t know if she could handle seeing it right now.
“The bots also said that he is only alive because of you, Sora,” Zane added. Her breath hitched as her gaze snapped up. Zane offered a soft smile.
Arin gave her shoulder a squeeze and Sora felt pressure behind her eyes as tears demanded to fall again. But this time, she held back.
“Don’t ever ask me to do that again,” she pleaded shakily.
Zane dipped his head. “Of course not.”
The nindroid settled next to Lloyd, opposite of Sora, and Cole at his side. The nindroid leaned heavily on the Earth Ninja, exhausted physically and mentally and emotionally, but Cole didn’t mind. Sora refused to leave Lloyd’s side so Arin sat next to her. Wyldfyre and Riyu paced around the room as if keeping guard, both of them growling quietly. Geo left after a couple of minutes to retrieve food.
After all the fights, Sora had completely forgotten to eat. Hunger gnawed at her stomach.
When Geo returned, they ate in silence, the normally flavorful taste bland on Sora’s tongue. Then the food, along with relief of seeing Lloyd stable and healing, had her exhaustion return tenfold.
But she didn’t want to sleep, afraid something might happen while she was out.
Cole must’ve seen something in her torn expression. “Sora,” he murmured. She glanced up with tired eyes. “Get some sleep. You’re still in the tournament and need rest.”
“But—”
“We’ll wake you up if anything happens,” the Earth Ninja reassured. He made no movement, Zane already asleep on his shoulder. “Trust me. You don’t want to be tired when you fight.”
Sora decided that his advice would definitely be sound, having come from years of experience.
She caved, trudging over to her bed but turning it slightly so she could face Lloyd while laying on her side.
Despite not knowing if she would be able to fall back asleep with all the worry plaguing her mind, the soothing dark numbness swept over her before she could count to ten.
***
Sora hated to leave Lloyd’s side the next day, especially after Zeatrix tried to attack them. But she had a fight to win. She had to stay in the tournament for Lloyd.
Zane became her coach for that fight, but she could tell he was distracted. The battle against Frak was longer than some of her others, and he’d almost used a wolf mask, but had thrown it down the pit. It had been an honorable fight, and Sora emerged victorious.
She smiled sadly as the crowd cheered, her only desire to return to Lloyd. But she couldn’t leave the fights, in case she was called up again.
When Roby called Nokt into the arena, Sora tensed, worried that she’d have to fight him. She didn’t even know spinjitzu, never mind rising dragon, she wouldn’t have a chance—
Nokt was supposed to fight Lloyd.
“What game is Roby playing?” Sora snapped. “He knows Lloyd is still—” Her voice broke and she swallowed painfully.
The crowd muttered uneasily while Ras and Nokt seemed particularly pleased. “The Tournament must go on,” Roby announced regretfully. “With Lloyd not here, I must declare the winner to be—”
A flash of green.
“Lloyd!” Sora yelped, pointing. Her arm dropped in shock; while she was bursting with relief of seeing Lloyd on his feet and awake, his pace was slow, right arm holding the left one close to his body as he limped towards his side of the arena. He’d put a fresh gi over the bandages, though white shone from his collar where his gi couldn’t cover.
As Roby and the crowd cheered with the ‘unexpected comeback,’ Sora ran closer to Lloyd. “Lloyd!” She called. When he turned towards her, eyelids drooping with exhaustion and barely-concealed pain evident on his face, Sora flinched. “I’m so happy to see you awake,” she told him truthfully, “but are you sure you should be fighting?” She put emphasis on her last few words, anxious at his state.
Her mentor turned back towards Nokt. “I can still fight,” he replied quietly. “I have to.”
No, you don’t! Sora wanted to scream. You need to recover!
Even with his powers, there was no way Lloyd could be even remotely healed.
Roby transferred the elemental powers from Zeatrix’s fight. Lloyd grimaced at the sensation, flexing his fingers, but lowered into a battle stance.
Sora watched anxiously as he dodged the first blow, then jumped into his rising dragon as red shatterspin whirled around Nokt. The resulting explosion of light sent Lloyd tumbling back. He took longer than normal to recover, panting more from pain than exertion, one arm wrapped tightly around his chest.
The gong rang out. “Stop the fight!” Bleckt cried.
Sora startled, confused, as the crowd whispered amongst themselves.
“You are clearly an injured combatant,” Bleckt told Lloyd, holding up a book. “The Source Dragons, in their desire for fairness, decreed that no injured fighters are permitted.”
Lloyd rose to his full height, indignant. “But—you saw me! I can fight! I’m just a little sore, that’s all!”
Sora glared at him, which unfortunately, he didn’t see.
“I—” Roby looked torn. “I’m sorry, Lloyd. If it’s in the rules, I can’t deny it. Even though—” he held up his camera “—that fight was awesome!” He glanced back down at the injured Ninja. “Your health is the most important thing.”
He moved his hover device closer and Lloyd stood motionless as Roby transferred the elemental powers. As soon as Lloyd stepped onto solid ground, his expression a mix of pain, frustration, and irritation, Sora wrapped her arms around him—though mindful of his injuries.
Lloyd wilted and Sora could feel him shaking slightly. His hand patted her shoulder, so she backed away slightly, eyes misty.
“You did your best,” Zane reassured the injured Ninja, who at that moment, looked so much younger.
“I failed us,” Lloyd muttered, tearing away from the group. His shoulders shook with anger as his fingers curled into fists. “I failed all of us!”
Sora put herself in front of him, forcing him to look at her. “No, you haven’t,” she insisted. “I’m still in.”
Lloyd smiled faintly, though it quickly fell with a grimace. His hand pressed to the wound and he swayed slightly, saved from falling by Zane grabbing his shoulders. “Easy,” the Ice Ninja warned. “Your powers cannot heal you right now. Please do not push yourself.”
Lloyd bit his lip and nodded weakly, leaning on Zane to stay upright. Thankfully, the older Ninja guided him to a nearby ledge and helped him sit comfortably. He remained behind the younger, making sure he didn’t fall, and Sora attached herself to his side.
She would never admit it, but she was relieved he wouldn’t be fighting anymore. His head hung with fatigue and his expression was plagued with pain. It was a miracle he was even awake, let alone walking or fighting. The less battle he had to do, the better.
Later, when the wolf warriors fought with the elemental masters, Sora wished she could’ve kept Lloyd from the fight. She could see pain clouding his eyes with each movement, yet he didn’t say a word and kept battling the wolf warriors. Sora made sure she stayed near his side to provide at least a little more protection.
It was the least she could do for only adding to his pain.
***
The night after the tournament. Elemental powers were back with their original owners, the Forbidden Five’s plans were free, and Arin—
Sora chewed on her lip, trying to distract her thoughts with the pain. She sat on a ledge outside of a house on the chilly clear night, thoughts screaming at her. Too many to discern individual words.
A hand on her arm stopped her movements.
“Lloyd,” she gasped, startled, then relaxed.
“What’s on your mind, Sora?” Her mentor asked quietly, taking a seat next to her. He was wearing a loose hoodie, fresh bandages wrapped around the wound.
A lot of things, she thought helplessly, but seeing the bandages peeking out from the hoodie collar reminded her of one specific problem that had been bugging her. She hesitated, glancing away, unsure how to start.
Lloyd gently grabbed her hand and guided it to his shoulder, on top of the wound. She flinched and stared at him with wide eyes, worried the pressure would hurt him.
“Burned,” he said quietly. Sora flinched hard and had to bite her lip again. “You did it?”
Sora tore her hand from his shoulder, breath catching in her throat, and slid off the ledge to distance herself from the wound. She wrapped shaking hands around her torso, once again the image of Lloyd’s body bleeding and spasming under her burning hands flashing across her mind. His scream haunted her ears.
Lloyd approached her and rubbed her arm. “Thank you,” he murmured. Sora flinched away again and he sighed. “I can’t remember any of it, in case you were wondering.” Admittedly, that did provide some comfort. “You saved my life.”
At the complete gratitude and trust in his voice, Sora paused.
Her mentor once again approached, this time turning her to face him. His eyes shone with—with pride.
“How can you be okay with that?” Sora blurted. Lloyd simply waited patiently as if expecting this. “I—I had to burn you, Lloyd.” She choked back a sob. “You were screaming—”
Lloyd opened his arms as an invitation, and Sora pressed herself to him. His hand rubbed circles on her back. “I’m okay now, though,” he whispered. “We’re all okay.”
“You’re all insane,” Sora sobbed with a halfhearted laugh.
Her mentor tensed slightly before relaxing. “It’s not the first time I’ve been burned like this,” he told her. “We know what we’re doing.”
“Zane and Cole—” Sora hiccuped, awkwardly swiping her eyes. “They acted like they’ve had experience—”
“They have,” Lloyd replied. “Years ago. It’s not something we can prevent.” He gently pulled back and made sure Sora was looking at him. “I’m really sorry you had to do that, Sora,” he breathed, his gaze falling behind her.
Sora, still teary-eyed, turned to look just as a tired Red Ninja joined them. “Do what?” Kai demanded, glancing from the distraught Sora to the guilty Lloyd.
Kai’s gaze fell on the bandages and his expression darkened. “Lloyd,” he said slowly, “who did that?”
Sora shivered at the tone.
“Kai,” Lloyd groaned. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” Kai snapped, tugging the collar of Lloyd’s hoodie to see better. Lloyd grimaced but didn’t pull away, either knowing he wouldn’t win or in too much pain to bother trying. “How big—”
Lloyd showed him the base of the bandages on his waist, expression neutral.
Kai’s hair started smoking.
“Kai, please,” Lloyd pressed, his voice pleading and weak. Kai faltered at the words, and Sora blinked in surprise. How much pain was he really in to sound so desperate? “It’s healing.”
“Something like that would be cauterized,” Kai thought aloud, gently smoothing Lloyd’s hoodie back into place and wrapping his arm around the younger’s shoulders. Lloyd leaned into him with a faint smile. “But I wasn’t—”
“It was me,” Sora interrupted brokenly. “I did it.”
Kai’s eyes widened, and after a moment, he held out his other arm. Sora hesitated, then stepped closer, and Kai pulled her into his single-sided hug. “You did good, kid,” he reassured her.
Sora couldn’t help the small smile that formed on her face.
“Told you,” Lloyd grinned.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight again,” Kai grumbled. To Sora, he added more seriously, “Listen, kid—if you ever need to talk about it, just ask me. ’Kay?”
Sora nodded, relief filling her mind. “I will,” she replied quietly. “Thank you.”
Kai nodded in appreciation and pulled away from both of them. “I’ve gotta find Nya,” he told them. “But don’t think we’re done, Lloyd.” He sent the younger a playful glare.
“Of course not,” Lloyd grumbled.
Kai grinned and ran off.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Sora,” Lloyd added softly. “Thank you for saving me.”
Sora wiped her eyes again, accepting Lloyd’s hug when he offered. “You’re welcome,” she replied.
The “greatest elemental master in the merged realms” felt a little more at peace.