Hidden Away || Ninjago AU

S:2; Ch:14

"It's you?" It was the voice from earlier.

Squinting open his eyes, Wind found himself in front of a person wrapped in a thick, tight mist. He was only planning on tailing the person. But by the looks of it, the person caught on.

The person or whatever it was turned around, backing Wind. Wind stood up cautiously.

"Leave," The person said. "Don't follow me."

"I can't do that," Wind replied. He was confused by the person's actions and thought to question things. "Our Senseis said you went missing for two years. Did you go missing, or did you run away?"

"You were always quick to act."

"Since Sensei Wu and Sensei Garmadon are looking for you, I thought you must be important. But looking at how worried Sensei sounded on the comlink... you're not just important, you are important to them."

"Wind, right?" The person turned back to face Wind. "Stop looking for me. Tell your friends too."

"Is it your Elemental Power?" Wind pressed on. "Water said Sensei couldn't describe it when he briefed her. Did you run away because you didn't want to hurt anyone?"

A small chuckle escaped from the person. "You've always figured things out easily. Training under your Senseis probably made it even easier."

"So, I'm right."

"You're close," The person corrected. "I didn't run away, although you're free to put it that way. I also didn't leave because I didn't want to hurt anyone. I could hurt people even if locked in a prison filled with vengestone. And lastly, this isn't an elemental power. It's much different."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Did you think I was some villain with secrets?" The person let out a short laugh. "If you want to know something, I don't mind telling."

It was quiet. Wind stared at the person as if trying to read him. A minute passed, and the person turned and started to walk away.

"Wait."

The person paused.

"Can't we help you?"

"You can by not looking for me."

"Why do you say that? If you're important to my Sensei, you shouldn't do this. Come back to them. I know they can help."

"You put too much faith in a bunch of old men," The person said coldly. "If you care about them so much, you can have my place."

"Do you hate them?"

No reply was heard from the person. Instead, he could be seen walking away.

"We're going to keep looking for you! We'll find you, bring you back, and resolve everything. Just wait."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

The person continued walking away. Wind went after him, moving as fast as he could. He lunged at the person, ready to strike with his elemental abilities. However, before the attack landed, the dark mist on the person moved to grab Wind mid-air.

~X~x~X~x~X~

"Sensei," White said to Wu, who was running beside him, "Wind's comlink has gone offline. I can't track him or reach him."

"What?" Water asked, running on the opposite side of Wu. "What do you mean his comm has gone offline? How do we find him?"

"I have his last known location," White said, "It's just a few buildings ahead."

"Then let's pick up the pace," Wu said.

A small explosion happened suddenly where White had directed to. Wind popped up from the commotion. In his hand was a silver blade, which gleamed under the explosion light.

"Why'd he pull out his sword?!" Water asked, stopping in her tracks. White and Wu followed suit. The three observed the situation. Wind was not the type to do things for no reason.

A black mist was seen escaping the smoke. Wind noticed it and followed right after.

"Let's go help him," Wu said as he set off in Wind's direction.

"Yes, Sensei," White and Water echoed. The two set off after their Sensei.

The dark mist person moved quicker than Wind had expected. Their fight had worn him out, and he could barely keep up. Wu soon appeared at his side.

"Sensei!" Wind exclaimed, "You're here."

"What's going on? What's with the explosion?" Wu asked.

"The guy ahead and I had a little chat, and we ended up fighting," Wind couldn't speak too much because of his exhaustion. "I don't think I can run anymore, Sensei. I think that person fought me to wear me out on purpose."

"It's okay," Wu said, "Have your teammates meet me at the port. Tell White to fix your comm."

Wu moved ahead of Wind, and went in the direction of the dark mist. He used his staff as a pole vault and propelled himself even farther in the same direction. Wind, who had stopped running, watched his Sensei in awe. White and Water caught up to him and wondered why he was staring like that.

"Is there like some premium bamboo store in the city?" Wind asked.

"Eh?"

~X~x~X~x~X~

Why is he showing up now? He's never been the type to reveal himself, especially if he knew we were searching for him. I'm worried.

Wu couldn't stop the thoughts from running wild through his mind. In his distractedness, he almost didn't notice the dark mist person had stopped.

I need to calm myself.

The person stood before a wall, projecting a shadow from his hand. The shadow grew taller. However, the person's limit was a shadow not that much more massive than his torso.

"Lloyd!"

The person staggered almost immediately after Wu called out.

"Who- ?" The person turned around and found himself face-to-face with Wu.

"You are coming with me," Wu said to the person, "Lloyd."

The person held their head and groaned slightly as if in pain. He stepped back from Wu but only just remembered the wall behind him.

"Stay back," The person warned in a stern voice. Wu wasn't sure what was happening but decided to approach cautiously. "I need to get back."

"You're not going anywhere," Wu hit his staff hard against the ground. A minor quake was caused, and small bursts of golden light flowed like waves. "We have searched for you for too long, nephew. Your father and I have been worried."

The dark mist on the person became agitated from the golden light, and started to dissipate slowly.

"Stop this," The person whose arms and feet were slowly being exposed urged, "I need to get back, so he doesn't-"

Wu pulled on the person's arm, bringing him closer to himself. The dark mist that acted as a cover came off without effort and dissipated completely.

"Uncle," The person called out hoarsely, "Leave me here."

"No," Wu said, "This has gone on for too long. Whatever is going on, your father and I will find a way to deal with it."

"It's not something you can fix, uncle," The person said, "It's already too late."