Darkness from Within #3: Bound for Evil (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 25

Lloyd and Ariana slipped through the halls, each holding a shuriken. They carefully inspected everywhere a sword could be hiding—cracks in the floor, paintings along the walls...

Lloyd halted as he stepped on a loose floorboard. Looking down, he spotted a flash of gold underneath the wood.

"There it is!" he hissed to Ariana.

Before they could move, a door suddenly flew open down the hall and Jay stepped out. Not a minute passed before Wu raced down the hall to meet him. Their eyes flashed when they spotted Lloyd and Ariana.

"We've got company," Lloyd mumbled to his partner.

They drew out their swords as Wu and Jay rushed over to them and skidded to a halt. But for a long moment, the four just stared at each other.

Lloyd and Wu locked gazes.

"Lloyd, you don't have to do this," Wu began warily.

Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh, I don't?" he snarled. "When I finally feel important and appreciated?"

Jay tensed as he saw the two readying their swords to fight. "Lloyd, please," he put in desperately. "We're your family! We love you!"

Ariana stood up beside Lloyd defensively. "You can spare the lies," she hissed. "Lloyd knows what you really think about him."

Jay stared at Lloyd. "Do you really believe her over us?" he questioned. "When she let her anger take control of herself and sought out a plan to kill you?"

Lloyd stiffened and returned his gaze, eyes full of emotion. He began to tremble, but forced himself not to fall apart.

Jay's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said. "Oh..." he breathed.

Lloyd gritted his teeth, struggling to push his feelings away, as Ariana stepped in front of him. "You're gonna pay for that," she growled.

Before anyone could say anything else, Zane and Nya came darting down the hall from the opposite direction. Lloyd and Ariana were surrounded.

Wu didn't shift his gaze away from Lloyd. "Now, we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way," he murmured.

Lloyd seemed unswayed at the thought that they were outnumbered. He returned Wu's gaze furiously, gripping his sword tighter.

This sent a slight prickle of fear down Wu's spine. "Just hand over the shurikens," he went on cautiously. "Then nothing will happen to any of us."

Lloyd and Ariana exchanged an 'are you serious?' glance. They surveyed the four people around them, observing everything in a flash. They're exhausted, scared, conflicted, and unarmed. This'll be easy.

Lloyd was sure to keep his gaze on Wu in order not to betray what he was thinking. But he didn't have to look. Like the ninja, he knew that monastery like the back of his hand. He already knew what was hanging above his head. It was that old, wooden dragon—the one that was nothing but a bulky decoration. But it could be more than that—that huge, hard thing—couldn't it?

Feeling the fury pulse through his veins, Lloyd allowed all his strength to rush into his arm as he suddenly threw his sword up into the air. Everyone's gazes shot upward as it whipped through the air flawlessly, slicing through the ropes holding the wooden dragon in place. In a flash, the fake dragon had crashed to the ground behind Ariana and Lloyd, smothering Nya and Zane.

Lloyd reached out his hand and his sword fell into his fingers. He stared at Wu and Jay with a raised eyebrow. "Oops."

Jay and Wu coughed as dust engulfed them. As the dirty cloud settled again, Jay's eyes widened. "Nya!" he gasped. "Zane!"