The Partling

chapter 17

At the borders of Ninjago everyone noticed the change. The darkness of the oni did only reach so far. So, when they left the island of Ninjago it was neither dark, nor cold anymore.

The sun was rising on the horizon. Their ambush had taken longer than they thought. It must've been about 3am by now. Everyone was keeping an eye on the tied-up oni that was traveling with them. He was riding with Kai, the fire ninja making sure that he didn't fall down.

Harumi was riding with Morro. For some odd reason, she felt better than she had the whole time she was staying in the castle. Now that she was out of there it felt like she could breathe again. Like she could relax again.

No more worrying if some oni was around the next corner, listening to her. The air around her didn't feel so tight anymore. It had been so cold and dark. It had been suffocating even though she could breathe without problems.

Harumi watched as Kai kept a constant hand on his brother, sword touching one of his arms. Lloyd was out cold, and she was sure that it would take hours for him to wake up. Even if Sensei Wu had said it wouldn't work too long, the effect seemed stronger than any of them had thought.

It worried her. Maybe he was seriously hurt because of the effect. Maybe the presence of the golden weapons was to much for his body to handle. But he was still breathing, right? Kai would check on that, right?

She nodded to herself. Of course he would. Harumi had known from the very beginning that Kai was the closest person to Lloyd. He'd do anything to protect his brother.

Hours passed by and the sun began to set on the horizon. Nighttime was the time where oni were the strongest. Darkness and shadows were their friends. And when Lloyd woke up before they reached the temple, then he would fight.

Harumi wasn't sure if the pure presence of the golden weapons was enough to hold him back, or if he would attempt to jump off of the fire ninjas dragon. Even if he was tied up. He'd find a way to get to land.

"Are we almost there?" she asked over the sound of the wind.

"One more hour, maybe two" Cole replied.

Harumi bit her lip. That wasn't enough time until the sun would settle. And if they would make it through the night without any incidents, she wasn't sure.

"Then we need to take a break for the night" Morro said as if reading her thoughts.

"Nah, we'll be fine. Lloyd's out cold" Jay waved him off. Clearly, he was not concerned at all.

"I believe Morro is right. Oni are stronger during the night. Taking a break would be more logical" Zane retorted.

"So? That's why we have these with us" Kai meant, holding his sword in the air.

Harumi sighed. They didn't know much about oni, did they? One would think that they'd do more research with the current situation. Then again, they probably had other things to worry about.

"No, I mean they are much stronger. With Lloyds amount of power, I would not be surprised if he was able to beat us all. Especially in the air" Zane said, worry laced his words.

"Okay, but there is no other land between Ninjago and the dark island" Cole said. "Or is there?" he looked at the others for answers.

"Negativ."

Or course there wasn't. Harumi had heard about the final battle. She had been there, hiding in the boulders of a fallen building. The overlord that came from the dark island. The one place that was the opposite of Ninjago.