Chapter Text
Lloyd figured that being targeted by a vengeful dragon the size of a skyscraper was probably a bad thing.
He had no choice but to dodge as Thunderfang’s claws swept over the ground towards him. The dragon growled out something to do with the different Source Dragons, but Lloyd wasn’t paying attention. Not with the pounding in his ears and the wind howling around him. All he was concerned with was staying in one piece, not whichever Source Dragon his powers hailed from.
Lloyd leaped to the side as Thunderfang’s claws slammed into the earth where he’d been moments before. But it was a sloppy dodge; Lloyd tumbled on landing and slid to a stop, panting hard, muscles shaking with fatigue. He pushed himself off the dusty ground, staring up, up, up at Thunderfang’s face towering over him.
The dragon’s wings spread, claws bared, a glint in his eye. He said something about irony. Lloyd didn’t know what about.
Then Thunderfang’s wings joined in the front, and red lightning shot down towards Lloyd before he could react. He cried out as the force sent him flying backwards. His vision became a blur from how fast he was moving.
He stopped suddenly, smashing into a cliff and creating a crater around him. Lloyd went rigid with the shock, all breath gone from his lungs, his vision filled with white spots. His head pounded. The only thing he could think about was taking his next breath, and that was proving to be a difficult task.
Thunderfang pounded over to him, still taller but more eye-level than Lloyd cared to be. The dragon’s maw opened, and Lloyd braced himself for sharp teeth to tear at his skin.
Instead, some force suddenly pulled Lloyd off the cliff and towards the dragon. His whole body started glowing green, and Lloyd felt pain.
His powers writhed and screamed in his body, trying to stop whatever was happening. It felt like something was pulling on him with very sharp and very hot claws, trying to tear him apart from the inside, and his powers desperately fought back. Any breath he’d managed to regain vanished in an instant. He could do nothing as his powers went to war inside his own body.
They were losing.
It felt like an eternity later when the force abruptly vanished, plunging Lloyd into a cold numbness. He gasped in relief, utterly spent, and began plummeting towards the ground. He couldn’t see anything; could barely hear. He teetered on the edge of consciousness, his powers weakened and wounded, his very being aching fiercely.
He slammed against something below, but started moving sideways, and knew that Riyu had caught him. The dragonet’s scales pressed uncomfortably into his back, and his muscles pumped rhythmically as he flew.
As feeling slowly returned to Lloyd, he sensed Riyu land. The dragonet whimpered, angling his body so Lloyd could slide off. The Ninja tumbled onto the ground, curled on his side, and desperately tried to breathe.
Riyu nuzzled him with a worried coo. Lloyd cracked open an eye to see the dragonet slightly blocking him from the fight, and out of sight of Thunderfang. He let out a weak laugh and reached up to scratched Riyu’s head. “Thanks…buddy,” he managed between breaths.
Riyu tilted his head and nudged Lloyd’s arm. “No, no…I’m okay,” Lloyd panted. He struggled to push himself up. Riyu’s wing slid behind his back to act as a support, and the Ninja smiled gratefully.
“I need to get back out there,” Lloyd breathed, somewhat recovered and headache already almost gone. His powers still felt weak, but that was fine—they weren’t depleted yet. He heard a massive crash from the battleground and adrenaline flooded through him. “I need to go, now!”
He began to stand up, but suddenly, Riyu pressed his paw down on Lloyd’s middle. Not hard, but firm enough to send a clear message: No. The dragon’s green eyes stared critically down at Lloyd.
“Conduit!” Thunderfang roared.
“Come on, Riyu!” Lloyd exclaimed, exasperated. “I need to go help my family!”
The dragonet didn’t budge, unimpressed.
“Look, I’m fine,” Lloyd insisted, holding up a hand and channeling his powers. A green glow, albeit not as strong as usual, illuminated the space. He lowered his arm and glared at Riyu. “You can’t sit me out on this one.”
The dragonet huffed but retracted his paw and crouched down.
Lloyd stood and brushed himself off. “Buddy, you don’t need to—”
Riyu didn’t let him finish. The dragonet nudged him hard enough to make him stumble, then used his wing to tip him onto the dragon’s back. Lloyd yelped in surprise but understood the message and quickly climbed up onto Riyu’s back. “Alright, alright. Don’t get yourself hurt.”
Riyu squawked indignantly and took to the air. Lloyd bent forward and tried to find a grip on his smooth gray scales as they flew into the strong winds.
Almost immediately, dragonian warriors surrounded them. Riyu dodged some and slammed his tail into others while Lloyd fired blasts of his element at them. They swarmed the duo, slashing with their swords and trying to slice Lloyd with their claws. He fought them off, but it diverted his attention.
He didn’t realize how close they were to Thunderfang.
“Conduit!” The beast snarled. Lloyd yelped as he was suddenly jerked off of Riyu’s back, the same searing force tearing at his soul. His body glowed green again and his powers leaped to his defense.
The Ninja screamed in agony. The pain was so much worse this time. His powers were already weakened and unable to defend him as well. He could do nothing as he drifted closer to Thunderfang’s open mouth, his energy leaving his body.
The dragon cackled in villainous delight.
Then…Lloyd felt something being ripped from him. His powers went dark as they were taken from him and pain flooded his senses, ripping another agonized scream from his lungs. Something that glowed a brilliant shade of green emerged from his chest, slowly, as if trying to stay with him. He desperately fought back, doing everything in his power to hold onto that light. He didn’t know what it was. But he knew he needed it.
Lloyd watched the beam of light enter Thunderfang’s maw as if spectating from outside his body.
The dragon’s teeth snapped shut, emitting a green shockwave.
Then all of the pain disappeared, and Lloyd knew no more.
***
Everything came back in a rush.
Lloyd’s eyes flew open as he jerked upright and gasped for air, his heart racing.
The Ninja then burst out coughing. He felt like he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. Each inhale brought more cool, refreshing oxygen into his body, and he gulped it down greedily. It felt like he’d been underwater for several minutes, his lungs burning and his body shaking.
Someone tugged off his mask, and breathing became easier as he struggled to get his breaths under control. Sounds around him were muffled, but slowly clearing up, and he felt a hand rub circles on his back.
Pain and weakness also flooded through his senses. Lloyd winced. He felt scraped up and raw or even burned. Every inch of him ached, and he felt his powers stir weakly deep within himself. Sitting up took more energy than it should’ve.
Finally, Lloyd observed his surroundings. Sunlight shone down on the battlefield, noticeably empty of an oversized dragon. The other Ninja surrounded him with various levels of worry and relief in their expressions. Kai had one arm around him while the other kept them steady on the ground, and it was then that Lloyd realized how much he was leaning into his brother.
“I’ve…had some really weird days,” the Ninja panted, “but…this one might be…the weirdest one yet.”
His family and friends laughed, and he felt warm knowing he’d managed to ease the tension.
Nya smiled with relief and crouched next to him to pull him into a tight hug. Lloyd chuckled breathlessly and closed his eyes, allowing the feel of his sister’s tight grip to flood his senses. The pressure increased as the others joined in, and he smiled.
He didn’t know how they’d managed to beat Thunderfang, nor how he’d come back—because when he felt that light being torn from him, he knew it was over—but at the moment, it didn’t matter.
His friends and family surrounded him, and that was all he cared about.