Darkness from Within #4: Fading (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 20

Lloyd ran his hand over That Sword's blade. "You and I both know what sort of injuries this sword can make," he murmured.

Kai's heart pounded in his chest. He knew Lloyd was ready for a fight, but he definitely wasn't. Ever since the Trance, he hated the feeling of being unarmed, and Lloyd knew it too well.

Kai gasped as he found himself backed up against the wall. Lloyd scoffed and readied That Sword for a blow. "Fine," he muttered. "If you won't tell me where it is, I'll find it myself."

Kai gave a gasp of terror and immediately rolled out of the way as Lloyd struck the sword at him. Instinctively, he reached out to grab his elemental sword but drew his hand back one moment too late.

Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows and his eyes followed Kai's hand to the painting on the wall. He smirked. "There she is," he chuckled.

Frozen in fear, Kai watched with round eyes as Lloyd heaved the painting off the wall, revealing Kai's elemental sword. The red ninja shook his head. What am I doing? he scolded himself. The fate of Ninjago depends on you!

Furrowing his eyebrows, Kai bunched his muscles and lunged at Lloyd, barreling him away from the sword. Lloyd gasped as the breath was driven out of him.

Kai hurriedly grabbed the elemental weapon for himself. "I don't want to hurt you," he said, "but I can't let you have this."

A low growl rumbled in Lloyd's throat. "If you want a fight, I'll give you a fight!" he snarled.

Kai gasped as Lloyd lunged at him and he rolled out of the way. The green ninja didn't waste a second before whipping around and coming for him again. Kai blocked the blow with his sword and heaved Lloyd away from him. He flipped backward to try and get as much distance between him and the green ninja as possible before clicking on his communication device.

He didn't have time to see if it was connected as he saw Lloyd rushing toward him again. "Code red!" he shouted into the device. "I repeat, Lloyd is—"

Kai broke off with a gasp as Lloyd barreled into him. The green ninja pinned him to the ground and knocked his communication device off his wrist. Before Kai had time to move, Lloyd stabbed That Sword into the device, shattering it into a million pieces. Kai's eyes widened.

"Your friends can't help you now," Lloyd hissed.

Breath quickening, Kai twisted and kicked Lloyd off of him. "They're your friends, too, Lloyd!" he retorted as he jumped to his feet. "They're better than friends—they're family!"

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "We're really starting this again?" he scowled. "Let me guess, you're going to tell me how much the ninja care about me!" Kai backed away as Lloyd stalked toward him. "Or how sad everyone is that I left!" the green ninja continued scornfully. "Or even better! How distressed my father is... now... that..." His voice suddenly trailed off. His eyes deepened with memories and he looked away.

Kai stared at him, hope beginning to form inside of him. Is Lloyd actually considering what I said?

But, to his surprise, Lloyd's eyes were blazing with fury when he looked back at him. "You!" he snarled. "You are the one who made this happen!"

Kai's eyes widened in alarm. "Made what happen?" he exclaimed, thoughts whirling.

Lloyd panted angrily. "If you never got me curious about what happened here, I never would've gotten hurt again!" he hissed.

"Hurt?" Kai echoed. "Who hurt you?"

Lloyd didn't reply as he readied his sword to fight. "This. Ends. Now," he growled.

* * *

"Almost... there..." Zane pushed his hands against the tree until he at last heard a beep. He panted with relief. "Kai!" he shouted, hoping his voice went through his communication device. "Kai, can you hear me? You have to be ready! Lloyd is coming to the monastery!"

There was no reply.

Zane screwed up his face. "Do you think he heard?" he asked.

Cole grunted as he twiddled with the ropes. "Most likely," he muttered distractedly. He grunted again before letting out a sigh. "Got it!"

The black ninja jumped to his feet as the ropes fell from his hands. He hurriedly untied the other two.

Zane got to his feet, rubbing his wrists. "Thank goodness," he sighed. "That was getting tight!"

"How's Jay?" Cole pushed.

The two ninja turned to find Jay lying on the ground. Zane gasped and he and Cole crouched beside the blue ninja.

Jay's side was bleeding heavily and he curled up, hissing with pain. Zane laid his hand on his arm and looked over him.

"See if you can find some moss," he told Cole. "Maybe we can stop the bleeding."

Cole nodded and disappeared into the trees.

Jay winced and clutched his wound. "I-I really am f-fine," he said, although his lie was followed by a groan.

Zane frowned. "I'm not sure if 'fine' describes the injury you just took," he remarked.

Jay panted. "We need to... need to get to... K-Kai," he made out through gritted teeth. "He's not strong... strong enough to d-defend him... self against... L-Lloyd..."

Zane looked down at the blue ninja in horror as he began to lose consciousness. Where are you, Cole?

As if his thoughts summoned him, the black ninja burst through the bushes and joined the two, dropping a wad of moss at Zane's knees. "This is all I could find," he said.

Zane grabbed the moss. "It'll do." He began pressing the moss into Jay's wound.

The blue ninja groaned as he worked, but Zane didn't stop. He took off his sash and tied it around Jay's waist, holding the makeshift bandage in place. Then he drew back again. "That's all I can do for now," he informed Cole. "But we have to get him some real medical attention."

Cole felt his breath quicken as he saw Jay's head fall back limply. "Will he be okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Zane admitted with a sigh. He rose to his feet. "We have to get back to the monastery."

"Agreed." Cole got to his feet as well and looked down at Jay. "It'll take forever to get there if we have to drag him around!"

Zane wrapped Jay's arm around his shoulder. "Then we haven't a minute to lose," he stated. "Help me out."

Cole took Jay's other arm and, together, the two dragged the unconscious ninja between them as they headed for home.

Impatience stirred inside of Cole with every moment that passed. He knew they could be moving much faster if Jay could walk. Every second we're away from home, Kai could get a new wound, he thought. Lloyd would've arrived there by now, and Kai could be battling for his life. Fear rose inside of Cole. He couldn't lose the one person who had stuck out for him, guided him through his strange power. His mentor. Oh, I just hope he can hold off long enough for us to get there!