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

Chapter 26

Garmadon coughed as the last of the dust settled again. Taking advantage of the short time-out, he scanned his surroundings. Zane and Nya still hadn't joined them, which must've meant the girl was still unconscious and the white ninja was staying beside her to protect her. Switching his attention to the ninja that had been present on the battlefield, Garmadon noticed both Cole and Jay had disappeared—which only meant one thing.

They must've been taken out already.

Breath quickening, Garmadon turned and found Kai leaning against the wall at the end of the hallway, breathing heavily, and, by the glaze over the red ninja's eyes, Garmadon could tell he wouldn't stay conscious much longer. We're losing, the sensei thought dreadfully.

Just then, Pixal came rounding the corner and, after stopping a moment to observe, she rushed over to Kai. She laid her hand on his wounded shoulder, then backed a pace away with a wince as if imagining the pain he was feeling herself. Then she turned her head and raked her surroundings intensely, seeming as if she were searching for something particular. She's looking for the wounded, Garmadon realized. By the distress in the nindroid's eyes, he could tell she had already stumbled upon Zane and Nya. He knew they could use her help in battle, but her job was too important. If she treated the ninja's wounds now, perhaps they would stand a better chance at recovering.

That only leaves me and my brother, Garmadon thought, peering through the dust again. Two against two... that shouldn't be too hard, right?

Grunt.

The sound snapped Garmadon back to the present as he realized the fighting had begun again. He whipped around to see Ariana grappling with his brother fiercely, the Baddie's blows getting more and more full of rage as their fight drew on. Before Garmadon could intervene, he caught a green flash at the edge of his vision and his head shot down the hall to see Lloyd racing away, carrying both shurikens.

Wu followed his gaze as he heaved Ariana away from him. "He's getting away!"

"Go!" Garmadon insisted as he saw Ariana stalking toward them again. He furrowed his eyebrows. "This one's mine."

As Wu raced after Lloyd, Garmadon lunged at Ariana with his staff. She blocked his blow with her sword and they stood in a locked position.

"You," Garmadon hissed, sweat rolling down his face. "You're the reason my son turned against us!"

With a grunt, Ariana heaved him away from her and did a backward flip. "Am I really?" she sneered. "I'm not the one who broke his heart!"

Garmadon ducked and rolled as she swiped her sword at him. "No one broke his heart!" he spat. "You only made him believe that!"

"That's what you think!" Ariana dodged to the side as Garmadon lunged at her. "You didn't see how crestfallen Lloyd looked when he ran away! You were too busy moping to actually look for your own son!"

Anger built inside of Garmadon. With a hiss, he barreled into Ariana, swiping enraged blows at her. "If my son needed my support, he would've asked for it!"

Ariana gasped as he knocked her sword from her hands, leaving her unarmed. "Maybe he wanted to," she growled. "But would you just walk up to your father after you felt like a complete disappointment to him?"

Garmadon grabbed her sword and held it over her, pinning her to the ground.

She glared up at him. "All Lloyd ever wanted was to be accepted for who he is," she snarled. "But he couldn't find it here, where everyone judged him after making one mistake—even though he was in a trance and never meant to hurt anyone!"