TW: Mentions of abuse (parental abuse). I will put another TW right before it starts, and then it'll keep going until the end of the chapter. TW recap will be at the end.

"Who are you looking at, Zippy?" Jay asked Griffen.

"The next one out of the tournament," the Master of Speed replied.

They were all on a blimp, cramped together in tiny seats. Lyra was half-leaning on Lloyd, as she was stuck between him and Jay and she'd rather be closer to Lloyd than Jay, mainly because Jay accidentally shocked anyone who touched him.

Yeah, that was why. And she totally just felt the exploding hummingbirds in her gut because she was scared of heights, even though she climbed trees all the time.

Definitely.

Lyra's gaze rested on Skylor. She hadn't gotten to talk to her about what she'd overheard. The entire night, Lyra hid in her room, making a few things she knew would be useful. 

She didn't sleep at all. She tried once, but every time she closed her eyes, she imagined the horrible blue snake swallowing her whole.

"Why so scared to show us your back, Shadow?" Kai asked. "Worried we're gonna find a tattoo and know you're working for Chen?"

"I hope this next fight is between you and me because I'm gonna put you on your back."

"That'swhatshesaid," Jay coughed.

Lyra and Lloyd snorted. Garmadon looked confused.

"Tensions are high," Garmadon commented.

"Yeah. Not as high up as we are now, though," Lloyd said. "You can hardly see the island from up here."

"I can't stand heights." Neuro was pacing. His tan face was the exact shade of the snow in the background of Lyra's second favourite painting she'd ever done. "Where's Chen?"

"Everything will be fine," Lyra told him. "This is actually safer than driving in cars."

Just then, Chen's face appeared on the screen at the front. Lyra shuddered as she looked at him, thinking of what he was planning to do. Lloyd glanced at her questioningly, then moved a bit closer, as if that would comfort her.

The hummingbirds and sudden rush of heat surging through Lyra's entire body were welcome distractions.

"How do I know if this thing's on?" Chen wondered aloud. "Oh, oh, oh, I see the light. Oh, oh, I'm on? Right now?" He cleared his throat. "Hello, final eight. I see you are all eager for the tournament to commence so one of you can win my Staff of Elements. Instead of fighting for a Jade Blade, today you will be fighting for something different."

He clicked a button, and security footage of Nya wandering through the forest played on the screen.

"Nya," Kai said, pointing. 

"You know her?" Skylor raised an eyebrow.

"It's my sister," Kai explained. For everyone around to hear.

If I weren't on your side, Kai, I'd totally be planning to use her as leverage to get you to do whatever I want. Lyra internally facepalmed. Wait, Skylor might be planning to do that right now. No, she wouldn't do that...right?

Lyra really wanted everything to just end already.

"We have an uninvited guest on the island," Chen stated. 

"And she must be holding the proof that'll stop Chen!" Kai realized. For everyone to hear. Again.

"Find her and you will automatically move on--" Chen continued.

"The spell he plans to use when he takes our powers. She must've stolen it!" Kai said.

"--to the final round!" Chen finished. 

"He wants us all to hunt her down?" Jay asked. "She won't stand a chance!"

"Guess we gotta find her before anyone else does, then," Lyra decided. She lowered her voice so only the ninja could hear. "I memorized a good amount of the forest when I fought against Tox, so we have the advantage here."

The ninja put their masks on. Lyra pulled her hood up. She was wearing a dark purple hoodie, so deep it was almost black, and dark green track pants. Underneath, she was wearing a black tank top, in case she had to run and got hot. She also had her mostly ginger hair in a simple braid and tucked under her hoodie. 

"In 10 seconds the bottom will drop," Chen announced. 

Everyone gasped. Neuro looked like he was going to throw up.

"But to show you I am not a bad man, I've given you eight parachutes," he continued, the orange parachutes dropping as he said so. 

The floor began to open up underneath them. Lyra stiffened, staring at the land that was far, far below. She was vaguely aware of Lloyd pulling her away from the middle of the floor. He tried to hand her a parachute, but her hands were shaking too badly for her to hold onto it.

Lyra wasn't even scared of heights usually, but something about the prospect of being dropped from several thousand feet up with little-to-no warning made her stomach twist unpleasantly.

"Shoot, Sensei Garmadon is there?" Lyra's insufferable father asked. "Oh, that makes nine. Oh well, I was never good at math. Heh. Toodle-oo."

Everyone fell to the floor as it opened up even more. Lloyd was holding onto Lyra's waist with one hand, and a parachute with the other.

"That guy's love for trap doors is seriously getting on my nerves!" Lloyd yelled.

The floor completely dropped, and everyone went flying.

Get your act together, Lyra, she told herself. She was still with Lloyd, though now he was holding onto her hand instead of her waist. 

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Then another. After one more, she opened them. She looked straight into Lloyd's eyes, staring intently at them and only them. Nothing else. His shimmering, beautiful emerald eyes were the only thing she saw. Not the ground that was quickly drawing nearer, ready for her body to hit it.

"Not a fan of heights?" Lloyd asked.

Lyra shrugged. "Just not a fan of dropping at a rapid speed," she said. Or rather, she tried to say. Her quiet voice was immediately lost in the wind.

"Lloyd, use your energy dragon!" Jay called as they passed him.

His what? Lyra's gaze reluctantly tore from Lloyd's eyes as she looked at the Lightning Ninja.

"I can't get it to work!" Lloyd replied. 

That was when Lyra realized he was only holding one parachute.

She immediately tried to push him away, realizing that, as the "hero," he was obviously going to try to use it on her.

He just pulled her closer, now holding her by her waist. She tried to ignore the feeling in her stomach as her forehead accidentally bumped his. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Take the parachute!" Lyra cried, trying to get away again.

She didn't know why she was doing this, trying to sacrifice her own life for an almost-stranger. But he was trying to do the same thing for her, which confused Lyra even more than her own actions.

"No way! My power can help me here! Yours can't!"

"You don't know that! Let--me--go!" 

Lyra managed to break free of his hold for a second, only for him to use his power to propel him toward her. "If you don't take this, we're both going to go splat."

"And if I take it, you'll go splat!" Lyra shouted, hysterical.

"No, I can summon my dragon. Probably. You can't," Lloyd pointed out. Before she could do anything, he slipped the backpack on her and pulled the cord, then pushed her away.

"LLOYD!" Lyra shrieked.

He just sacrificed his life for a traitor. 

Lyra blinked, frozen, as she watched her friend plummet closer and closer to the ground below. 

No no no this isn't happening this isn't happening please just let this never-ending nightmare end I wanna wake up I wanna wake up LET ME WAKE UP.

She wanted to look away. She couldn't. She waited for him to splat, for her heart to crash to the ground with him, for everything in the world to freeze as Jay, Kai, Garmadon, and Lyra cried out for him.

At the last second, a burst of energy was thrown from him. A moment later, Lloyd flew up, riding a brilliant green dragon that was the same shade as his eyes.

Lyra sighed in relief as her parachute sank below the treetops. He's safe.

Her parachute got stuck in the branches, leaving Lyra hanging a few feet below the ground. She slipped out of the backpack and rolled as she hit the ground, absorbing the impact. She looked around, recognizing where she was immediately.

The eastern side of the forest. It was definitely her favourite part, as many pine trees grew there and she loved their scent. There was also a meadow and a stream nearby.

Lyra's hand trailed to her pocket, making sure the Jade Blade she'd hidden there the night before was still in place. Surprisingly, it was, and she thanked herself for having the foresight to add zippers to all her pockets. And to sheathe the dagger before she put it in her pocket. Otherwise, she'd have been impaled. Many times.

She took it and its sheath out, buckling the belt aspect of it and shifting it to her right side. She slipped the sheath into her deep pockets--another thing she'd added to all her clothing--and hid the hilt of the blade under her hoodie.

She looked for a tall oak tree she knew was in the vicinity, scaling it swiftly. Another reason she liked the east side of the forest specifically was because of how tall most trees there were. She could easily see everything around her by climbing halfway up any of the huge old oak trees.

She scanned her surroundings, noting that Neuro was a couple hundred feet to the west and Griffen was sprinting up ahead, around a kilometre north.

The only ninja she could find was Kai, who was on the south side, yelling as his parachute was lit on fire by the volcano. By the time Lyra got there, he'd be long gone.

Guess I'm going solo for now, she thought. Let's just pray that Father doesn't find me.

Fanfare played from the speakers hidden within trees. Lyra almost fell out of her branch in surprise. "Hello, fighters," Chen said. "I have left you a few treats to help you in your hunt. I hope you use them wisely."

Lyra wondered what he meant by "treats". She looked around until a glint of light caught her eye. She quickly got down from the tree and jogged toward it.

She frowned. It was a shining katana with a red, glowing hilt. 

This is the most obvious trap I've ever seen, she thought. Who in their right mind would take it?

She turned around and jogged in the opposite direction of the weapon, toward the general middle of the forest, where Lloyd had summoned his Elemental Dragon.

At least, Lyra was pretty sure it was an Elemental Dragon. No one really explained what it was. Normal dragons didn't just appear out of nowhere, though. Usually.

She wandered around for around an hour, listening to the breeze rustling gently through the branches. Every once in a while, she climbed a tree to try to find anyone. Once she spotted Shade, and she saw Griffen every time because he was not stealthy at all, but she didn't see anyone else.

Lyra didn't mind being alone. She loved the forest. All the trees appeared to soak up every ounce of sadness in her body. The clean, woodsy air replaced the sadness with a faint sense of freedom, of life. 

Of course, the downside was that, if Chen were to find her, she'd be absolutely screwed. After all, he had access to almost every Elemental Power out there, while she had nothing. The only thing she'd be able to do would be run and hide, but that wasn't always the best option, especially when Chen had so many servants he could send to find her. 

Lyra just had to hope she could somehow get out of this situation.

Suddenly, Lyra paused. She strained to hear something. The wind was carrying a voice. Two voices, in fact.

She dropped close to the ground and silently crept forward, unsheathing her Jade Blade in the process. She was grateful she'd rubbed it in steel wool earlier, thus making it less reflective and not as attention-seeking.

She hid in a bush, not even daring to breathe, as the two voices got closer and closer. She watched the clearing in front of her intently, ready to fight or flee, depending on who was there. Lyra moved a bit closer to the front of the bush, making sure she was still hidden from view.

Two familiar people stepped into the clearing, and she sighed in relief, standing up.

"Lloyd!" she called, grinning and sheathing her dagger. "Found you!"

He's 100% ok oh my First Spinjitzu Master thank you so much.

Lloyd's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Lyra!"

Lyra ran up to him, and, without thinking, wrapped him in a hug. 

The force almost made Lloyd fall down, but he quickly regained his balance. He stiffened at first, then relaxed and slowly put his arms around Lyra, pulling her closer and leaning his head on her shoulder.

"HOW DARE YOU PULL THE CORD ON THAT PARACHUTE?" she whisper-yelled in his ear, ignoring the hummingbirds that now felt like huge crows. "YOU COULD'VE DIED! DO YOU REALIZE HOW SCARED I WAS? I'D PUNCH YOU RIGHT NOW IF I WASN'T SO GLAD YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Lloyd chuckled. Lyra felt the crows explode in her stomach as he did so. 

"You're glad I'm alive, huh?" He pulled away, smirking.

Lyra responded by backhanding him on the shoulder, albeit not hard.

Garmadon, still standing beside them, cleared his throat.

The two all but jumped away from each other. Lyra looked away, playing with the ends of her braid. Lloyd scratched the back of his neck, staring at the ground.

Garmadon was giving Lyra the expression he had when she first sat down in their booth, like he knew all of her secrets and was about to spill them for the entire world to hear. It took all of Lyra's self-control not to flinch away from his unwavering gaze.

Looking over Lloyd's shoulder, Lyra noticed something weird in the tree's trunk. It looked almost like a skull and crossbones had been carved into the bark, but the skull had strange points on the end and horns at the top. "What's that?"

Lloyd and his father followed her gaze. 

"The Samurai X symbol," Garmadon muttered. "Nya is very clever."

"The Samurai what?" Lyra asked.

"Nya's a samurai called Samurai X. That's her symbol," Lloyd explained. 

"She's a samurai? That's so cool!" Lyra gushed. 

"Right?"

Lyra ran a hand through the markings. She wondered what weapon made them. 

"You said before that Master Chen was your Sensei," Lloyd reminded his father, "but nothing else."

They turned around and walked away from the tree. Lyra kept a mental note of where they were at all times, until realizing they were a bit too far away and following them from a distance.

"Son, there are things from my past that I am not proud of," Garmadon admitted. "Perhaps it's time for you to know the truth."

Relatable, Lyra thought. Also, it seems like he's about to get very vulnerable. Should I really be here?

"Do you want me to, like, plug my ears? Because I can if you don't want me to hear this," Lyra offered.

Garmadon chuckled. "No, it's alright. Thank you for the offer, though, Lyra. Anyways, after the Devourer bit me when I was a child, it took years for all the evil to fully consume me. It was a time in our history when Humanity and Serpentine were not getting along. As our sides clashed, we hoped for a truce. But not Chen."

Of course not. 

"He convinced me to steal a love letter my brother, Wu, had written to Misako, your mother. Of course, she wasn't your mother yet. He tempted me to sign it in my name instead of his, and I foolishly agreed."

"Mom thought that letter was from you." Lloyd stopped walking. Lyra paused her stride beside him.

"As I've told you, there are things in my past I am not proud of, but I have no regrets. You wouldn't be here otherwise."

And I'd still be thinking my father is perfect and a hero, Lyra thought, disgusted.

"My fear of losing Misako controlled me and led me down a dangerous path." Garmadon looked down. "A past I hope to one day make peace with."

They walked in silence for a bit. Lyra was contemplating her decisions since the Tournament started.

If Lloyd forgave Garmadon for trying to destroy the entire world and turning everyone evil, he'd forgive me for getting Cole captured, right? 

She still wasn't sure. As much as she wanted to say he would, she just couldn't tell. She knew the ninja were close. As close as she and Skylor--before Skylor betrayed them, anyways. If someone had gotten Skylor captured on purpose, Lyra didn't know if she'd be able to forgive them.

They looked at another Samurai X symbol, this time carved on a fallen log. 

"Father, I don't understand. You trained under Chen, yet you fought beside Wu in the wars. What happened to the truce?"

"When Chen said to never trust a snake, he was right," Garmadon told them. "The Serpentine struck first. The alliance of the Elemental Masters fought back. But they had never seen the likes of an Anacondrai warrior. They were bigger, smarter, natural leaders on the battlefield. The Anacondrai were a proud tribe who fought with every ounce of venom. There was no greater warrior in the land, and with them in command, they proved to be too much for the Alliance to handle. Chen stood to gain more if he sided with the Snakes and wanted me to help him. Though the evil in my veins tempted me, I wouldn't fight a war with him. I would only fight to see my Misako again. From then on, Chen and I went our separate ways, so that I could join my brother in battle. We were the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master. And together, with the Elemental Alliance, we stood a fighting chance. But Chen's influence changed all that. He found a way to turn the Alliance against each other. The battle was all but lost. But in the darkest hour, we found hope. And hope found a way to end the war."

That's a lot of information, Lyra decided.

"We acquired special flutes, carved by the Second Spinjitzu Master herself." At that, Garmadon paused and turned to face Lyra for a moment, as if in deep thought. Then he started to walk again. "They allowed us to control the Serpentine. They were divided and locked into separate tombs. Chen and Clouse were exiled. And the Anacondrai generals were given the strictest sentence: Banishment to the Cursed Realm so that they will never set foot in Ninjago again."

Who the hell is the Second Spinjitzu Master? Why have I never heard of her? And what was that look he gave me for? Lyra's brain was screaming at her to flee. She knew she'd be able to escape them. Something with how Garmadon was acting was very suspicious. Her gut, however, told her to remain where she was.

"Even after all this time, you never told Wu about your past with Chen?" Lloyd asked.

"What would I have said?" Garmadon's voice was a higher pitch than usual. "I would've lost your mother, as well as my brother. Not to mention--"

"Someone once told me you need to control your fear, and not let fear control you," Lloyd said.

Now or never, Lyra thought. She took a deep breath. 

"Once we put all this behind us, I'll make things right," Garmadon decided. "But first, we need to find Nya. Come on."

Never mind. Too scary. I'll tell them later. Something casual, like, "Oh, by the way, I used to spy on you guys for Chen. Also, he's my father. And Skylor's my sister. She's still spying on you. Just thought you should know."

They walked until dusk, then found an apple tree nearby, thanks to Lyra's climbing skills.

They sat down, each eating an apple that Lyra'd retrieved.

TW: Mentions of abuse.

"Well done, Lila," Garmadon murmured. He watched Lyra carefully through the corner of her eyes.

Lyra's eyes widened and she stopped mid-chew. He knows. How. The. HELL. Does he know? 

She started to choke on the piece of apple. She quickly swallowed some water, and Lloyd patted her back until she could breathe again. "Sorry, what did you just say?"

"Well done, Lila," he repeated. "Sorry, I meant Lyra. You just remind me so much of an Elemental Master I once knew. You look so alike, she could be your mother."

Lyra laughed, trying not to sound hysterical. "That's a redhead joke, right? Haha, so funny."

"Say, what was your last name again?" Garmadon asked.

"Dr--So--Pa," Lyra stuttered, trying to think of anything that could get her out of this situation. 

"Dad, what are you doing?" Lloyd asked. 

"Does your last name maybe start with the letter 'C'?" Garmadon questioned, moving closer to her. "Does an 'H' follow it?"

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit, her mind chanted. Get out of here, Lyra. Despite this, she stayed put. 

Lloyd immediately stepped in front of Lyra. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I can explain." Lyra laid a hand on the hilt of her dagger reflexively. 

Big mistake. 

In an instant, Garmadon darted around Lloyd and pulled Lyra into a headlock. "Who are you?" he demanded. 

Lyra's eyes were fixed on the knife Garmadon held in his hand. It was a stolen kitchen knife, which admittedly wasn't the best kind of knife out there, but it'd still be able to do quite a bit of damage if he wished it to.

"Can't--talk--with--arm--there." Lyra's vision blurred. She could hardly see the outline of Lloyd's head.

Garmadon stepped half an inch away.

He's insane he's fucking insane and I'm gonna die.

"Dad, stop!" Lloyd protested. "What are you doing?"

Garmadon turned around, the knife still in hand. Lyra's eyes widened, realizing what he planned to do, and she grabbed her dagger, unsheathed it, and stood in between him and Lloyd.

"Don't hurt him!" she cried. "I'll tell you what you want, just don't hurt him!"

Garmadon stared at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Was he...was he not just about to slash Lloyd for being disrespectful? Isn't that what fathers do? 

"Don't hurt him," she repeated. The hand holding the Jade Blade was shaking.

"Lyra, he wasn't about to hurt me," Lloyd said, frowning. His hands were half-raised in a placating gesture.

Garmadon lowered his knife. "I may have done a lot of terrible things in my life, but I would never hurt my son on purpose."

Lyra's brows furrowed. "But...he told you not to do something. And you're his father, so he's supposed to listen. You were about to cut him with the knife!"

Everyone went quiet for a moment.

"Lyra..." Lloyd started, taking a slow step toward her. "Has this sort of thing happened to you before?"

"I--well--hasn't it happened to everyone?" Lyra's brow furrowed. 

"No!" Garmadon said, shocked. His previous anger was gone. "Did your father attack you when he got mad?"

"Well, I probably was just a worse kid than most, then," Lyra rushed. "I deserved it. I sassed him once or twice, accidentally stained his throne once, you know."

"Lyra, that's...that's abuse." Lloyd's eyes looked pained as he stared at her. 

"No, it's just...normal. I deserved it!"

Right?

"Lyra, as a father, I have never once thought of attacking my own child, even when evil ran through my veins," Garmadon told her.

"Well--I--" Lyra stuttered. 

"Your father is evil," he continued. "Worse than me when I was bitten. I've seen what he's capable of. You should not be following his orders."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Lloyd asked.

"Lloyd, her name is not Lyra," Garmadon informed him. "I can guarantee it."

"That's news to me," Lyra muttered. "I lied about the last name, not the first name. Actually, I didn't even lie about it. I just withheld information." She lowered the Jade Blade so it was resting at her side. "You never even asked me what my surname was, so there was no chance to lie about it."

"Lyra, wh--what are you talking about?" Lloyd's face fell. 

Lyra felt something inside her rip open at his expression.

"I promise I had a reason for everything. I was going to tell you today or tomorrow, I was just...scared. Of how you'd react."

"Tell us what?" Lloyd moved closer. "What's going on?"

"My full name is Lyra Soun-Chen," she admitted, watching Lloyd carefully. 

It took exactly one second for what she'd said to register in his brain. She looked at the different emotions flashing across his face, disappearing before she could figure out what they meant. He pulled a mask of neutrality on, and it killed Lyra.

He hates me. Lyra wanted to punch herself, to run away, to do something stupid. And it's all my fault, of course.

"Chen is my father. Skylor is my sister. Before the tournament, he told us to spy on you guys. We were both so excited, of course. I finally had the chance to make Father proud. Our first ever mission was to take down the evil ninja squad who'd been terrorizing Ninjago for years. Or so we thought."

"Wait, so Chen told you we were evil?" Lloyd clarified. When Lyra nodded, he nodded too. "Did you not have access to the Internet? Did nothing you saw say anything about how we weren't?"

"Oh, we probably figured it out thousands of times." Lyra pursed her lips. "Unfortunately, Clouse knows a spell that can remove bits of your memory. I'd bet anything in the world he used that on us. Plus, all our Internet time was monitored."

"So, just to make sure, you aren't spying on us right now, right?" Lloyd asked, frowning.

"Oh, hell no. I realized he was evil when we talked in the med bay," Lyra said truthfully. "I'd known he had a prisoner with ice powers locked up, but he told me that the prisoner had stolen the powers. It wasn't until you explained what happened with the Overlord that I connected the dots and realized Zane was the prisoner. After that, everything 'morally gray' that he ever did and said made more sense."

"And how do we know to believe you?" Garmadon asked.

"Well, for one, it seems extremely hypocritical of you to get mad at someone for working with Chen, after what you just talked about an hour ago," Lyra pointed out. "Also, I've had many opportunities whilst standing here to stab you with my dagger, but I didn't take them because I'm not a murderer and I also recognize you're a good person. Aside from that, there's not much I can do to prove I'm not with Chen anymore. Other than how I know he's jealous of my power for whatever reason, but that's still not much proof."

"You're a Master of Sound, correct?" Garmadon questioned. He looked like he already knew the answer.

Lyra paused. "Not exactly," she admitted. "But Father didn't even tell me to lie about that. My actual Element is just so weak, I didn't want to tell anyone."

"Well, what is it?" Lloyd asked. "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"Art," she muttered, looking down.

Garmadon covered his hand with his mouth. "It can't be."

"Art? Like drawing?" Lloyd cocked a head to the side.

"All seven forms of Art. Dancing, Music, Painting/Drawing, Literature, Performing, Architecture, and Sculpture," she explained. "I'm slightly better than average at all of those. Only benefit is I have a good ear, a sharp eye, and can balance easily. Oh, and I'm a good actor. And my tears are sometimes rainbow-coloured. That's not really a benefit, though. It's just...a side effect."

"Lyra, your power is much more than that," Garmadon informed her. He was staring at her like she was a new species. "Much, much more. You really are your mother's daughter, oh my."

"What do you--" 

Lyra was cut off as a hand grabbed her mouth and a knife was pressed against her throat.

"Unfortunately, your time here has come to an end," Clouse drawled. "Garmadon and Lloyd, if you want to see your friend alive, do exactly as I say."

Lyra tensed. She couldn't see a thing.

He's gonna kill me right here and I'm gonna go to Hell because of all the bad shit I've ever done and I'll never know more about my power--
Wait, my power.
They still need it.

 She moved a bit away from Clouse's hand, enough so she could speak. "Don't listen to him. I heard him and Chen talking. They need my power before they can kill me. Plus, they wanna kill me with the--the snake."

Perfect facade of calm until the stutter, Lyra, she criticized.

Clouse spun her around so she was facing him. He shook her shoulders. "How do you know that?"

Realizing Lyra could escape easily if she was kept in that hold, he held the knife to her throat and turned her around again. "I will only ask one more time," he warned. "How. Do. You. Know. That?"

Lyra's vision fully returned, though it seemed to scare off her ability to speak. She stared at the blade of the knife. Her lips were trembling and her hands ached to fidget with something, anything.

Lloyd and Garmadon held their hands up above their heads. Lloyd's hands were trembling. If looks could kill, Clouse would be dead a thousand times over. 

You learned how to escape this hold once, she told herself. Just breathe. Try to remember. You'll be okay.

"Let her go," Lloyd demanded. 

Lyra realized her Jade Blade was still at her side, hidden from Clouse's view.

"How did you hear that?" Clouse yelled. 

What did Skylor say about the knife-to-the-throat? she asked herself. I know she's not a fan of it because it's "overused," but I can't remember. Something about turning the shoulder...why didn't I pay more attention to her? 

Deciding that doing anything was better than staying here and being helpless, Lyra swiftly turned to the right, grabbed Clouse's arm that was holding the dagger, and karate-chopped him in the throat. 

She ducked under his arms, which had flown up to his neck, ran around three feet away, then turned to face him, Jade Blade in hand.

He was coughing, knife on the ground and hands on his throat. Garmadon and Lloyd rushed to her, Lloyd going completely in front of her and his dad staying beside her. 

Lloyd threw a glowing ball of energy at him. He flew back into a tree then slid down in front of the trunk and sank to the ground, unconscious.

Garmadon ran to grab Clouse's knife, while Lloyd turned to face Lyra. 

"Are you okay?" his eyes scanned her face, looking for any damage. When they met her eyes, they stayed there. 

Lyra tried to say yes, or even just nod, but she was frozen in place. The reality of that situation had sunk in.

"Lyra?" he took her hand in both of his.

AHHHHHHHH I JUST ALMOST DIED WHAT THE ACTUAL F-- is he holding my hand? 

"I--need--" Lyra sat down, trying to process what just happened. It took her a moment to realize her entire body was shaking.

Lloyd crouched down in front of her, still holding her hand. "What do you need?"

"Sleep," she muttered. "I got absolutely none last night. I was too--too busy designing the sheath for the Jade Blade and--and making it less reflective." She stumbled over some of her words, probably because she was still shaking. "Plus--plus--plus finding dark clothing suited for something like this, or for running away, or for anything, really."

This is too much for one day. Too much for one month, even.

"Hey, everything's alright." He tightened his hold on her hand. "You're safe here. That won't happen again, I promise."

Garmadon sat next to the two. "That was...unexpected, to say the least. I apologize for what I said to you earlier. I just--I just didn't want to believe that Chen managed to corrupt Lila's children, even if it was just temporarily. I acted foolishly and impulsively, and for that, I am truly sorry."

"Did you know my mother well?" Lyra tilted her head.

 She didn't know anything about Lila Soun, other than she was her mother, the old Master of Amber, and had unexpectedly died a few months after Lyra was born.

Garmadon nodded. "She was an incredible warrior. Very brave, but very kind. Unfortunately, Chen manipulated her into thinking she was in love with him. Not long after we beat the Serpentine, she set sail for his island. I...never saw her again. I tried to stop her, but once she had her mind set on something, nothing could get in her way."

The corners of Lyra's mouth pulled up into a weak smile. "Sounds like Skylor." Then she covered her mouth with her hand (the one Lloyd wasn't holding).

"What is it?" Lloyd moved closer to Lyra.

"Skylor's still spying on you guys. And she's managed to come in contact with everyone, so..."

Garmadon gasped. "She has everyone's power."

Lyra nodded. "Well, except part of mine. For some reason, she was only ever able to take one form of art. Generally, it was Dancing or Music."

"That's because you're so powerful, her powers can't take more than a tiny bit of yours," Garmadon explained.

Lyra laughed. "No way. No fu--I mean freaking way. I don't believe that."

"Chen lied to you about almost everything in your life," Lloyd reminded her. "There was nothing stopping him from lying about your powers, too."

"No, he totally lied about my powers." Lyra waved a hand in dismissal, standing up. Sadly, her hand slipped out of Lloyd's. "I just think it's funny that Chen told me the exact opposite, and I actually believed him."

How pathetic is that?

Garmadon and Lloyd both stood up, too. The three began to walk away from the clearing, Lyra leading them into the thickest part of the forest, where it'd be very difficult to be found. The only issue was that it was so dark, she could barely see in front of her. She knew the forest by heart, so it wasn't like she was going to run into any trees or anything, but she didn't want her companions getting lost.

"So, just to clarify," Lyra started, "I'm, like, powerful? Despite only being able to do art?"

"You got your power from the Second Spinjitzu Master," Garmadon explained. 

"Once again, who?" 

"You don't know about her?" Lloyd asked.

"Clouse probably erased her from my memory any time I discovered her," Lyra decided. "That or Chen made sure there was no way I could ever find out about her. Probably a bit of both. You mentioned something about the Internet earlier? I was allowed on it for an hour--sometimes only half that--every Friday, and was constantly being monitored by Clo-Clouse." She shivered, thinking of the man who'd just held a knife to her throat. It'd seemed much scarier when he did it than when Garmadon did. "I was only allowed more time when the Tournament drew closer, because Skylor and I wanted to research our opponents. We never looked you guys up, though, because Father and Clouse had already told us all about how 'evil' you were, and how each of your powers worked."

Just then, they heard rustling up ahead. Lloyd immediately went in front of Lyra, and Garmadon went behind her. She unsheathed her dagger and crouched down low, relying on her semi-camouflage outfit to hide her. She put her hood over her head, as her orange hair wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

The rustling drew closer, and the quick sound of footsteps could be heard. After a moment, a girl in light armour appeared.

Nya almost ran into Lloyd.

"Nya!" he yelled in surprise. He lowered his arms, which were previously in a fighting stance.

"They took Jay!" she cried. Tears were streaming down her face. "They took everyone!"

Lyra, deeming that she didn't need to be hidden, stood up and loosened her grip on the Jade Blade. Nya acknowledged her presence with a nod.

"Slow down, Nya," Garmadon instructed. "What happened?"

"Lloyd and Lyra are the only ones left. You're the only ones that can stop it!" Nya handed Lloyd a rolled-up piece of paper.

"Stop what?" Lyra asked, peeking over Lloyd's shoulder.

He unrolled the paper. Lyra gasped as she recognized where it'd come from.

She actually managed to steal from Father--I mean Chen? That's extremely impressive.

"A transformation spell," Garmadon muttered as he read over the instructions. "It can't be."

"Transformation spell?" Lloyd asked. "Transform into what?"

A heavy feeling made its way into Lyra's chest. "An army of Anacondrai."

He's absolutely insane. Does he realize what could happen?

Garmadon nodded. "The Tournament may be over, but the next Serpentine war may have just begun."

This took me way too long to write oml. Anyone have any thoughts/opinions on it?

Word count: 6.2k

TW Recap: Garmadon confronts Lyra about being Chen's child because he knew her mother and she looks like her. She thinks he's about to hurt Lloyd, so she moved in front of him and begs him not to hurt him. This leads to a conversation about abuse. Lyra explains everything about her and Skylor being the spies, plus her family history. Garmadon tells her there's more to her power than she thinks, then Clouse shows up and tries to take everyone away. They escape, Garmadon tells Lyra her power stems from the Second Spinjitzu Master, they find Nya, and she tells them about the transformation spell that'll turn all of Chen's servants into Anacondrai warriors. (If I missed anything major in this recap, please tell me).

QOTD: What's your favourite book series?

A: Percy Jackson, without a doubt. There's CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and PLOT and MYTHOLOGY. If you haven't read it, it's a 10/10 for me and I 100% recommend reading it.

Please do comment and vote because it really does help with motivation and motivation=frequent updates

Please remember to drink water, eat food, and get an appropriate amount of sleep for your age<3

~Aspen