to rule the world | a ninjago au

[29] 'after-fire' kai shut up there's a war going on

skylor

Her body moved faster than her mind did.

Instinctively, she drew in her hands and pulled out slabs of rock from the sides of the chasm, desperately trying to slow Svanna - and Astra's - fall. But she'd practice with Cole's element too little, the earth was too thin and Svanna's body smashed through each frantic layer she summoned with frightening ease. Astra, who was flailing wildly in an attempt to reach Svanna's very much unconscious body, finally reached close enough to hold of the young Venomari only to fling herself backwards as purple light streamed from her hands. Skylor was vaguely aware of Nya creeping closer to the edge, lashing out with ropes of water that stretched just out of reach.

"Astra!" Lloyd cried, diving so close to the edge that Skylor had to pull him back before he toppled in too. In the distance, a cackling laugh disappeared as the entire temple revebrated. Shook once. Shook again. "Astra, you idiot!"

By some miracle, she managed to twist around mid-fall and give her brother the finger.

"Stop falling!"

"Oh, I didn't consider that you fucking dickwad!" Astra shouted back, too focused on agitating her brother and controlling the wild outburst of her powers to notice the large rock headed for her. Nya let out a frustrated shout as her water ropes stretched hopelessly for them, falling short.

"Astra!" Lloyd screamed again, a green pulse of energy exploding from his body. It slammed into Skylor, shattering the precious focus she'd spent on summoning the earth. But instead of feeling like she'd been hit by a two-ton truck, she felt...stronger? Out of nowhere, Nya's powers seemed to surge, the water harnessing Astra and Svanna in less than a second and drawing them back up like a winch.

Skylor staggered to her feet as the Nya pulled them out of the chasm, Astra coughing out dust and blood with an expression Skylor didn't want to meet lest she was incinerated on the spot. With her sudden burst of energy, she felt confident enough to try something she hadn't quite mastered with earth yet - holding up the entire ceiling long enough for Lloyd, still partly dazed from whatever had happened to him, to grab one of Svanna's arms and sling it over his shoulder. Nya made to pass Astra Svanna's other arm, but the girl flinched so visibility the water elemental shouldered the Venomari instead.

"We need to go!" Astra yelled, darting in and out of the way of falling ceiling chunks. "Roof's caving in! Gods, where's Cole when we need him?"

"We don't need Cole," Skylor said, the back of her neck prickling as a long-ago rush returned to her veins. Adrenaline, from when she'd been excited to see her dad return late from work, from when she'd perfected her twist on Chen's original noodles, from when she'd first met her friends - the feeling that had folded in itself unfurled and shot through her like a drug. She felt good. Strong. Powerful. "Stay behind, make sure there's no more Serpentine following us. I've got this."

Skylor set out at a sprint, praying that Nya and Lloyd would be able to keep up since Svanna was so small, praying that there weren't any lingering Sepertine to overwhelm Astra on her own. She felt more tapped into her element than she ever had without those artificial shocks - she could feel not just the earth itself, but before, when she could only ever be aware of one of the powers in her arsenal, now she could sense what Kade could, the injuries littering all of them, what Jay could, a brewing storm up and far away - and most importantly what Cole could. On the way in she couldn't have told you what kinds of rocks were barring their way, how deep a fissure ran, or how close that section of the ceiling was to crumbling, but she could now.

There was no time to think, only act as she held up the section of the roof they were under and the three parts ahead, strengthened the earth beneath them, and directed the battered group through the traps. She tapped at her comm, hoping that Seliel was still nearby. When she answered, Skylor's heart pounded louder than her own words. "Land, now! The temple's falling apart, we need you n—"