Darkness from Within #2: Tension Rising (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 18

Everyone murmured uneasily to each other as they glanced from Garmadon to Wu.

"Did Lloyd go into another trance?" Zane asked.

"That's the thing," Wu sighed, staring at the ninja intensely. "He was completely in his right mind."

The ninja exchanged glances.

Jay scratched his head. "So you mean... Lloyd... meant to attack you?"

Wu lowered his head.

"No..." Nya gasped before burying her face in her hands.

As the others shared their shock, confusion, and worries, Wu gazed down the hall where Lloyd had stomped off to.

He said he'd never hurt his family... He turned his head to look at his brother. But he just did.

* * *

Nya gasped as Garmadon's head fell back limply. "Guys!" she called to the others. "He needs medical attention!"

Wu knelt beside his brother and saw blood that was dropping down Garmadon's forehead. "He's had quite a hit," Wu murmured. "Let's just hope his skull isn't damaged."

Cole, Jay, and Zane lifted the injured sensei to bring him to the hospital room; Wu and Nya followed close behind.

"I don't get it, Sensei," Nya began. "Why would Lloyd hurt Garmadon? He loves his father more than anything!"

"I don't know, Nya," Wu sighed. "His anger took control over him."

"What made him so aggravated?" Nya asked. "What were you talking about before he lashed out?"

Wu suddenly stopped.

Nya paused beside him. "What is it?" she wondered.

Wu's eyes widened. "Kai," he breathed. "We were talking about Kai!"

Nya gasped.

The two stared at each other for a moment, then turned from the rest of the group and raced down the hall. Nya's heart pounded as they headed for Kai's room. What has Lloyd done to my brother this time?

Kai's door was wide open.

Wu took a deep breath. "He's already been here."

The two slowed their pace after realizing this. As they halted to catch their breath, they picked up a strange noise coming from the bedroom. It was like wheezing and groaning all at once.

Nya's head shot up in alarm. "That doesn't sound good," she gasped out.

Wu's eyes widened. "Kai!"

The two burst into the room as they heard the pounding of footsteps. But when they entered, they found Kai alone.

The red ninja was on his hands and knees at the edge of his bed, gagging and gasping for breath.

"Kai!" Nya sped over to him.

"Kai, where did Lloyd go?" Wu demanded.

Wheezing, Kai lifted a shaky hand and pointed to the open window. Then he toppled off the bed and fell to the ground limply.

Nya gasped and knelt beside him. She laid her hand over his forehead. "Why, Sensei?" she choked out. "Why does Lloyd keep traumatizing Kai?"

Wu closed his eyes. "I don't know, Nya," he confessed. "But what I do know is that Lloyd has to be stopped. Let's bring Kai to the hospital room, then we'll decide what we're going to do about that boy!"

* * *

Wu and Nya laid Kai onto another bed and Pixal immediately rushed over to him as Cole, Zane, and Jay walked over to them.

"Let me guess," Cole muttered as he glanced at the unconscious ninja. "Lloyd?"

Wu closed his eyes and sighed. "Since his recent shock, Kai must've been helpless against Lloyd's strength," he murmured. Opening his eyes again, he asked, "how is my brother?"

Zane shrugged. "Not any better, not any worse."

They walked over to the bed where Garmadon was lying. The top part of his head was wrapped in a bandage.

"The good news is, nothing inside is broken," Jay informed. "Only the shock from the blow and the loss of blood knocked him out."

Wu rubbed his beard and nodded in understanding.

"Sensei, we want to know what's going on," Cole stated. "What happened with Lloyd?"

Wu sighed. "I suppose you do. Come on."

He led the ninja to a couch on the other side of the hospital room and they all sat down. He hesitated a moment before beginning.

"It's partly my fault," he started. "I thought Lloyd was ready to hear the truth. I was wrong."

Jay's jaws gaped. "You mean, you told Lloyd about the trance?"

"I did," Wu confirmed.

Cole shifted his feet. "I guess it didn't go so well," he murmured.

Wu nodded. "He seemed fine with it until we told him what he did to Kai," he sighed. "Then he kind of just... lost it. He demanded that we were lying to him, and when we denied it, he attacked us."

"I never realized how short-tempered Lloyd is," Zane breathed.

"It was like he was in the trance," Wu went on. "Except that he wasn't. He knew exactly what he was doing."

"But why, Sensei?" Cole questioned. "How could Lloyd lash out like that at his own father?"

"It was too much for him," Wu sighed. "He's still young. He couldn't set his mind to believe that he had hurt his family like that. And yet, in his stress, he didn't realize how much he had just hurt them."

To be continued...