Taking Control. (a Ninjago fanfic)

Chapter 48- A smile that doesn't fit

K A I

We made it.

I didn't really know what I was expecting to find when we got there.

But I told myself—over and over again—that we wouldn't be too late. That Nya would be fine. That we'd stop it before anything bad happened.

Because with the mirror, that was possible.

But when we arrived—when we tore through the ruins of what used to be the city square—my breath caught in my throat.

Because Nya was on the ground.

Still.

Unmoving.

And Jay—no, not Jay, not Jay—stood over her, a dagger poised in his hand, the blade glinting under the storm overhead.

I didn't think.

I barely even breathed.

I just ran.

"Rue—!"

Before I could even finish, she had already moved—like she could read my mind.

A vine shot up from the cracked pavement, sharp and fast as a whip. It lashed against Jay's wrist, knocking the dagger from his grip. The blade clattered to the ground with a hollow clang, and Jay staggered back, his eyes flashing with something—surprise, rage, I didn't care.

He was about to kill her.

My sister.

I almost lost her.

I didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief before the Overlord's expression twisted into something more... feral. His lips peeled back in a snarl, his whole body tensing, coiling, ready to lunge—

And then he did.

A roar of pure fury ripped through the air as he lunged at Nya again, electricity crackling menacingly at his fingertips, his eyes wild with psychotic glee.

I moved to stop him, but I was too slow.

Too slow—

But Rue wasn't.

Before the Overlord could even get close, her vines struck again.

They erupted from the ground like living creatures, twisting, curling, wrapping around his limbs like chains. They moved with a mind of their own—gripping, binding, trapping. His body jerked, his teeth bared in rage, but the vines held strong, pinning him to the stone wall with a sickening crack.

The whole city square trembled from the force of it.

Rue stood firm, her hair whipping wildly in the wind, her breath coming in sharp bursts, but she didn't falter.

"Stay back!" she ordered, voice steady, but her hands were trembling from the effort. The mirror glinted in her grip, its surface dark and waiting.

I couldn't help but feel a surge of hope.

For a second, just a brief second—

It felt like we might actually have a chance.

But I couldn't get distracted. Not now.

Because Nya was still lying there.

And she wasn't moving.

"Nya—!"

Lloyd was already ahead of me. He dropped to his knees beside her, pressing two fingers to her neck, his breath catching as he felt for a pulse.

A beat.