Ninjago - Heart of Stone

Chapter Twenty One: Lies

"I guess that explains the mystery of the suddenly appearing knife from your parents," Kai said, although his wide eyes and hopeful grin killed the sarcasm in his comment. He narrowed his eyes, leaning forwards. "You're sure it'll work?"

"I'm sure it'll kill him," Lexi said, "but not that I'll be able to do it." She looked up at the tower, reminding herself that her father was somewhere in there. "I have to try."

"And try you will." Cole looked much bolder than he sounded, and Lexi knew he sounded bolder than he felt. "Of course we can get you up there."

Lexi wanted to stare at him a little longer, but shame at her own dishonesty tugged her gaze away. "Someone will need to fight off Nya," she said dully. It was obviously not a job that any one of them particularly wanted, but they were well beyond the point of caring enough to argue about it.

"Whoever makes it to the top will deal with her," Kai said. He didn't say it out loud, but the implication was clear: he didn't expect to survive. None of them really did.

Except for her. Lexi stiffened as she realized they were all prepared to give their lives for her; or for her to kill Overlord. It hurt, strangely, to know they trusted her. It felt like she'd given them all bits of her heart, and now they were all giving them back to her, even though she didn't want them.

"So what's the plan?" Jay asked. His voice was shaking, and Lexi wished he would just cry already, if only to break the tension that fizzled so obviously in the air.

"We will all charge," Zane said, "we will fight off the warriors as best we can, protecting Lexi and the dagger. And then, she will use it." He didn't mention what would happen to them after that, because everyone knew there probably wouldn't be an 'after that' for them. Lexi bit her lip. There wouldn't be an 'after that' for her, either. Perhaps if all of them died, it would make things a little easier.

"That can't be the plan," Lloyd said. He was the only one he didn't seem like he was ready to die. Lexi imagined that his soul and heart were still so young, and she wished his body hadn't changed, so she could send him away, make him hide until all this was over. Lloyd was just her lost little brother, and she hated the fact that he had to die for her now.

"What do you suggest?" Lexi imagines that Kai's tone would have been biting if he'd had the energy to make it so. "Overlord controls the warriors, and we can't get to him until his army's gone—"

"He has to control them somehow, doesn't he?" Lloyd asked desperately. "Uncle Wu, in the old days, did anyone other than Overlord ever lead the stone army?"

Wu shook his head. "I don't know," he said, "perhaps, perhaps not..."

"In all accounts I've ever heard, the army responded to Overlord," Misako supplied, "but there may be undocumented cases of—"

"We don't have time for this," Kai snapped. "Even if there was something we could do about them, it's too late. We have to act now, before he moves on, or notices we're here."

"Okay," Lexi said. She still couldn't look anyone in the eye. "Okay, we're doing this."

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The tower was taller and more fortified than any of the ninja were expecting. Lexi flexed her wrists, darkness already building up in the palms of her hands as she stared up at the warriors, who stared back down at her in silence. She was at the center of a protective circle, the other five ninja, plus Wu, Misako, and even Julian, standing before her, weapons raised and powers ready.

For a moment, tension crackled through the air, and no one moved. Then it was as if a spell had been suddenly broken, and everyone moved at once.

The warriors cried something in their horrible language, charging down the steps towards the ninja. The ninja, in turn, let out a battle cry and charged at them, a streams of fire, lightning, ice, earth and energy flew through the air. The warriors were barely affected, but then the ninja ducked out of the way, clearing a path for Lexi's blast of dark power, which blew a hole clean through the warrior leader's head. He staggered, black blood spilling from the hole, and collapsed backwards onto the two warriors behind him. They fell in a heap, and stone cracked and smashed against the rain-slicked ground. The oncoming warriors stumbled over and around the fallen bodies, and the ninja took their chance and charged.