Darkness from Within #7: A Promise Broken (Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

She smirked. "You weren't that fond of me, either," she pointed out.

"Actually, I think I was," Lloyd countered, gazing into her eyes. "I knew from the moment I saw you that you were special."

Ariana couldn't resist a smile, and Lloyd saw her blush underneath her curls. "What else do you remember?" she asked.

Lloyd felt his mind jolt again. "I-I remember meeting Joseph... and Vanessa... and those two guys Simon and Harry..." He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "Phil helped me escape. But then something happened out in the mountains... Everything went dark for a moment, and when I woke up I was..."

Lloyd gasped as a million different scenes flashed through his mind. Shoving his mother to the ground. Hitting his father across the face. The need for revenge. Boiling anger. Attacking his uncle. That Sword. Blood. More blood. Kai trembling underneath him. Shouts of rage and fury. A screech. Then darkness.

Lloyd jolted back to the present with another gasp. His mind whirled and he clutched the ground to steady himself. He must've fallen off the bed.

Everything seemed to spin and he shut his eyes, breathing heavily.

"Lloyd!" Ariana slid down beside him. "Are you alright?"

Panting, Lloyd opened his eyes again and rubbed his head. "Th-the Trance," he rasped out. "It... It really happened." He swallowed hard as memory after memory flooded his mind. It's no wonder they didn't trust me, he thought. I was a monster.

No.

I am a monster.

Lloyd found himself crushing into the corner of the wall and his bedpost. His whole body was shaking and he wrapped his arms around his knees, completely forgetting Ariana was there. The Trance, he mused, breath quickening. I really did go insane... and the ninja really did have a reason to be wary around me. They weren't just being mean. I attacked them all unarmed and unprepared. What is wrong with me?

He thought back to the days since he had returned from the monastery. He had to admit he enjoyed messing with the ninja, but they hadn't attempted to connect with him for a while now. Does that mean they've finally given up on me?

He expected to feel relieved. Or satisfied. Or even happy. But instead, he felt a hollowness break out inside of him. The ninja abandoned him... and why shouldn't they? That should've made him content. The ninja were finally going to leave him alone. He was free.

No—he wasn't free.

Not with that stupid marking on his wrist.

Anger boiled inside of him. How much longer would he have to suffer until he could do what he wanted? Go where he wanted? Live like he wanted? He had attempted that already with turning from the ninja, turning from those trapped walls of the monastery. Only to find himself trapped yet again in the Overlord's schemes. The Overlord had been playing him the whole time, just like the ninja had been. I can't take it anymore, he thought with rage. Why must everything be twisted? Why must everything I do turn out for the worse? Can't I ever be free to take charge of my own life for once?

Who cared about his promise? He definitely didn't. Because if freeing the other Baddies meant eternal prison for him, he had no intention of doing so. The Overlord swore he wouldn't let Lloyd or Ariana go if anyone slipped the former ninja's fingers. And if Lloyd had any chance of getting out of there, he had to agree to the Overlord. Those Baddies can figure their own way out, he thought, blood boiling. Because I don't have time to deal with what they want when I'm thinking about what I want. And I want to get out of here as fast as possible.