Miraculously from Ninjago | Stranded in Etheria

48 - Strategies and Confessions

Y/n's POV

To my surprise, Queen Angella actually listened to us. She assigned Kai, Lloyd and me as temporary generals, and we were given enough authority to give directions to others. By the looks of it, Bright Moon wasn't accustomed to violence... either that, or they were terrible at war strategy.

"Entrapta, go get started on some new inventions that can help us win this battle," Lloyd said. "Scorpia, take Adrien and teach him to use a real weapon."

"Hey! I already know how to fight!" Adrien protested.

"Oh, really?" Lloyd countered. "Cuz you didn't seem to do a very good job handling Mothball until we came along."

"We had everything under control!"

"Guys!" I yelled. "You're acting very immature right now when we're about to be under attack. Keep your wits about you, or I'm going to have to smack some sense into both of you. Am I clear?"

"Yes, y/n," they both said. Finally, something they agreed on.

"I don't understand why we can't just leave," Zephyr said, walking up to me. We had already told her that we knew a way to get home. "Why are we staying here to fight for a place that we don't even know?"

"It's the right thing to do," I said. "You don't have to fight if you don't want to, but ninja are protectors. We're staying here until Bright Moon is safe."

Zephyr thought about that for a moment. "Alright, fine," she said. "I guess I'll go help Entrapta; thanks to my father, I know a bit about inventing."

"Great," I smiled. "I'll see you after this is over."

I headed down to the armoury. Kai was selecting a few weapons, as well as some armour. He practiced with the staff a few times, but he didn't seem to notice me approaching him. He almost hit me in the face.

"Oops; sorry y/n," he said, lowering the staff. "I didn't see you there."

"I could tell," I laughed. "The Horde is almost here; you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Okay. Gather everyone up and direct them outside. We need to get set up around the gates of Bright Moon."

"Copy that. We'll be ready for battle in ten minutes, give or take a few."

"Perfect," I said with a nod, then I turned around and rushed back upstairs.

I found Glimmer, Bow, Adora and Catra discussing something alongside Queen Angella. Lloyd was at the table, too, but he wasn't engaging in conversation. Instead, he was staring at a map—he seemed to be planning something on his own.

"What's going on?" I asked him quietly, not wanting to disturb the others.

"They want to to attack without a plan," he sighed, a little frustrated. "Apparently, they aren't good with strategies—they work best by improvising."

"We were like that once," I laughed. "Although, we were a lot younger when we started than they were."

"What do you think we should do?" Lloyd asked. "We don't know this world—should we let them lead their own troops into battle, or should we give them guidance?"

I thought about that for a moment. "They're all pretty powerful," I mused. "They have the means to win this fight, but I think if we interfere, they may not be able to access the warriors within them. The best thing we can do is provide our own talents, but not our leadership."

"Huh, you're even wiser than you look," Scorpia said.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked her.

"A couple minutes," she shrugged as Adrien appeared beside her.

"Did you give him some lessons?" Lloyd asked, gesturing to Adrien.

"Yep! Although, he didn't really need them; he's a natural."

"Beginners luck," Lloyd scoffed at Adrien's smug expression.

Scorpia raised an eyebrow. "Do I sense tension here?"

"We're about to go to war; of course there's tension."

"No, no—there's definitely something going on between the two of you boys. What is it? You fighting over a girl or something?"

Lloyd's face heated up. "N-no!"

"Wow, real convincing," I muttered, but I knew he was telling the truth; how could he and Adrien be fighting over a girl if we hadn't met an eligible one in quite a few days? However, I couldn't help but wonder if Scorpia had a point.

"Wait a sec—that actually makes perfect sense!" Adrien exclaimed. "You've had something against me ever since we met, and it always gets worse when y/n's around. Do you... like her?"

"What? No! Of course not!"

"I hate to disagree," Scorpia started, squinting at Lloyd. "But you appear to be blushing."

Lloyd started to breath a bit more rapidly.

"So this is why you hate me? Because it's not like y/n and you are dating or anything," Adrien said. "I mean, I admit that I do have feelings for y/n, but I never acted on them because I didn't think that she was into me. Honestly, when we first met, I wasn't even sure if she was into guys in general."

"I started high school at age twelve! I wasn't interested in dating anybody," I defended. "Wait... you have feelings for me?"

"Well, yeah," Adrien muttered. "I didn't say anything to anyone because I convinced myself I was in love with Ladybug, but when Marinette turned me down... my feelings for you kinda started to grow."

I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. I had no freakin clue.

"I knew it!" Lloyd groaned. He buried his head in his hands. "I can tell by the way you look at her."

"Stop it!" I ordered. "Let me make this clear: I don't want to be stuck in a gosh darn love triangle, so can you both just snap out of it? If we need to, we'll talk about it later, but not right now. Understood?"

They nodded.

"Good," I said. "Because we have a battle to prepare for."

—————-

A/n

Well, I did it. I wrote a confession scene. Or, at least, half of one. Honestly, it was kind of hard, considering I wasn't planning on y/n ending up with anyone, but someone suggested doing a love triangle earlier and I'm always happy to make changes for you guys!

Love you all,

—QC