The Second Master of Wind

Runaway

Lloyd's POV

"Why did she run away?" I asked as we followed Aeria through the dead forest that surrounded Tozmachi.

"Take a hint, you're a ninja who puts people who live in a place like this away in jail and right after that little battle with Python." Ronin answered with sarcasm.

"Pythor." I corrected him.

"Whatever."

"Guys, how's it going from the Bounty?" I pressed my comlink to talk with the others.

"We're getting close, but she's fast." Jay responded.

"Yeah, faster than Jay's mouth fast." Cole added.

"Hey!"

"Come on guys focus! We need to bring her in so we can find out why Pythor's after her."

"Understood Lloyd. I will direct the falcon to scout out the area ahead." Zane reported and I saw the silver bird fly past me and Ronin in Rex and Aeria's motorcycle.

"She's headed toward the twisted canyons, if she reaches it, she'll be able to lose us." Xia informed us and I could see the canyon range ahead of us.

"Then we have to stop her from reaching them." I declared and a chorus of OK's sounded from the team.

"We just have to stop her from reaching the entrance by cutting her off, somehow." I thought to myself and I tried to come up with a plan.

"Something like this?" Ronin pressed a few buttons and Rex fired off a few small missiles that zoomed into the wall of the canyon entrance and exploded.

"Ronin! It's gonna fall on top of her now!" I yelled until he responded with,

"Relax, I wasn't trying to take her out, just her bike."

Sure enough he was right, Aeria was able to zoom through most of the crumbling rocks, but just as she was about to make it out and into the canyon maze, a small boulder crashed into the side of her motorcycle and made it sweep to the side while she jumped off and rolled on the ground to a stop.

"I'm going in." I told Ronin and I pulled my ninja mask down before jumping out the side of Rex, leaping off a couple of canyon edges, and landing a few feet in front of where Aeria was laying.

Groaning in pain, and in anger, Aeria pushed herself onto her knees and rubbed her head with one hand while the other pushed her bangs back into place over her eye.

"Calm down, I just want to talk." I spoke slowly while walking towards her with my hands up.

"About what? About how you're going to put me in prison for thefts I was made to do against my will?" She growled as she stood up, but held her right shoulder in pain.

"Hey, are you hurt?" I asked, concerned.

"Nooo what does it look like? You really thought I'd be OK after you two shot me off my motorcycle." Aeria countered back sarcastically.

"Lloyd, she's getting mad, you might want to get out of there." Kai suggested through the comlink as the Bounty pulled up beside Rex and the ninja were seen on the deck.

"Just let me handle this alright? We're trying not to scare her away, remember?" I reminded them as I continued to inch towards Aeria as she glared at me with her one exposed eye.

"Listen, I know how it feels to do something because you feel like you have to do it." I stood right in front of her as she closed her eyes and hung her head down.

"You have no idea what I've been through." Aeria threw her arms out and a gust of wind was thrown into me and I was knocked back a few feet.

"W-what the...?" I stammered as I did a double-take on what just happened.

"I told you before, leave me alone!" She raised her arms above her head and large wind currents formed around her in a dust tornado, only instead of pulling things in, the winds were pushing outward.

"Guys, I can't see her anymore!" I screamed over the winds.

"Hang on, we're gonna give you something to grab onto." Nya informed me as the anchor from the Bounty landed near me.

"What about Aeria?" I asked as I grabbed a hold of the line attached to the anchor to keep from flying away.

"I got this." I heard Ronin say as he fired something into the midst of the tornado and it instantly slowed and started to stop.

When the dust cleared, I saw Aeria laying on her back on the ground with her eyes closed and a round device was stuck to her leg.

"What did you do this time Ronin?!" I yelled up to him as I ran over to check on her.

"Oh relax, it was just a stun shock. She'll be up again in about an hour or two and, knowing her, twice as mad as before." Ronin crossed his arms while rolling his eyes.

"Do not worry Lloyd, Pixal has analyzed Aeria and reports that she is a little weak, but should recover in a few short hours with proper rest." Zane says as I pick her up and start carrying her onto the Bounty.

"Xia, can you grab the first aid supplies to treat these scratches?" I ask as I set Aeria down on a bed in an extra room.

"Yes Lloyd." She responded and disappeared for a few seconds before returning with the red and white plastic box. I opened it and took out the bandage roll as Xia placed a glowing yellow hand on Aeria's forehead.

"She feels the most pain in her right arm and left knee. I will also heal her dislocated shoulder." She announced and I took the bandages and wrapped them around the scratches on Aeria's right arm, after disinfecting the area, and on her left knee and Xia places both her hands on Aeria's right shoulder and concentrates as a peach light surrounds the area and heals it, but I stopped her before she could exhaust herself healing the other minimal wounds.

I stood up straight and sighed as Xia asked with her eyes closed in concentration,

"You feel guilt and sympathy, Lloyd, why?"

"I just... feel like I can relate to her... Being alone in a big world where you feel like you can't trust anybody and doing things you later will end up regretting." I admit as we leave the room so Aeria could rest.

"But you have us..."

"Yeah, but I doubt she had anyone really looking out for her and having her back after she ran away."

"Maybe you can be the one who is there for her." Xia says as she walks away to find her brother and I think about what she said.

"Maybe..." I whispered to myself, ignoring the chilling feeling I got as I walked down the hallway further from the room.

1102 Words