Lloyd froze in his tracks. His thoughts whirled. After a moment's hesitation, he turned around again. "What?"
Wu stalked closer to him. "Kai," he repeated. "The sword... his wound..."
Lloyd staggered backward, eyes rounded. "No..."
"The pain..." Wu went on. "The tension... his anxiety..." He paused. "Ring any bells?"
Lloyd let out a soft gasp. "A-are you saying that I... I wounded Kai?" he breathed.
Wu leaned back and crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. "The dots are finally being connected," he murmured.
Lloyd looked down and took a few heavy breaths as Garmadon went over to them. When Lloyd lifted his head again, his face was hardened.
"I don't believe you," he stated.
Garmadon let out a short sigh. "Lloyd, you can't just—"
"I don't believe you!" Lloyd snarled.
Garmadon flinched at his angry tone. "Listen to me, Lloyd—"
"No, you listen!" Lloyd shouted. His eyes blazed. "You said you cared about me, but then you accuse me of attacking my own family? Are you saying I seem like a person who would do that?"
"Now, Lloyd," Wu murmured. "Calm down."
Lloyd turned his furious gaze to him. "How could you say a thing like that?" he roared. "I would never hurt my family! Never!" Exploding with fury, Lloyd gave a groan of frustration and shoved Wu to the ground.
Garmadon's eyes widened. "Lloyd—"
Hissing, Lloyd turned and lunged at his father, barreling him to the ground. Garmadon gasped as the ninja swung enraged blows at him as the two rolled around. Garmadon managed to dodge most of them.
He tried to heave his son off of him, but the strength of his anger was too powerful. His heart pounded as he struggled to break apart from the green ninja.
Lloyd struck his fist at the sensei's face. Garmadon jerked, dazed as the blow hit him. Senses clouded, he didn't notice Lloyd lifting his fist for another blow until it was too late. Garmadon moaned with pain as he felt another strike at his face. His body jerked again, then he went limp.
"Lloyd!" a voice shouted. "What are you doing?"
Garmadon felt the weight lift off him. His vision was blurry and he felt blood drip down his face. What just happened?
Lloyd whipped around to see Jay, Cole, Zane, and Nya enter the room. Panting with anger, he gazed at all the people staring at him with horror.
Nya crouched beside Garmadon, who was rubbing his head. The others were clearly befuddled as they observed the scene.
Lloyd shook his head to clear his thoughts. For a moment, horror weighed down on him as he realized what he had done. Then, glancing at everyone's suspicious looks, his frustration returned. "Why can't everyone just leave me alone?" he growled.
The ninja stumbled away as Lloyd pushed his way through the crowd. He halted as Jay stopped him from leaving the room. Lloyd's muscles tensed as his furious gaze fell on the blue ninja.
Fear glittered in Jay's eyes, and he staggered backward as Lloyd darted past him and into the hall.
Everyone turned to Wu when he was gone.
"Sensei, what happened?" Cole inquired.
Wu shook his head. "I'm not too sure," he admitted. "Lloyd just got so angry, and before I knew it he was grappling with his father."
Everyone murmured uneasily to each other as they glanced from Garmadon to Wu.
"Did Lloyd go into another trance?" Zane asked.
"That's the thing," Wu sighed, staring at the ninja intensely. "He was completely in his right mind."
The ninja exchanged glances.
Jay scratched his head. "So you mean... Lloyd... meant to attack you?"
Wu lowered his head.
"No..." Nya gasped before burying her face in her hands.
As the others shared their shock, confusion, and worries, Wu gazed down the hall where Lloyd had stomped off to.
He said he'd never hurt his family... He turned his head to look at his brother. But he just did.
* * *
Nya gasped as Garmadon's head fell back limply. "Guys!" she called to the others. "He needs medical attention!"
Wu knelt beside his brother and saw blood that was dropping down Garmadon's forehead. "He's had quite a hit," Wu murmured. "Let's just hope his skull isn't damaged."
Cole, Jay, and Zane lifted the injured sensei to bring him to the hospital room; Wu and Nya followed close behind.
"I don't get it, Sensei," Nya began. "Why would Lloyd hurt Garmadon? He loves his father more than anything!"
"I don't know, Nya," Wu sighed. "His anger took control over him."
"What made him so aggravated?" Nya asked. "What were you talking about before he lashed out?"
Wu suddenly stopped.
Nya paused beside him. "What is it?" she wondered.
Wu's eyes widened. "Kai," he breathed. "We were talking about Kai!"
Nya gasped.
The two stared at each other for a moment, then turned from the rest of the group and raced down the hall. Nya's heart pounded as they headed for Kai's room. What has Lloyd done to my brother this time?
Kai's door was wide open.
Wu took a deep breath. "He's already been here."
The two slowed their pace after realizing this. As they halted to catch their breath, they picked up a strange noise coming from the bedroom. It was like wheezing and groaning all at once.
Nya's head shot up in alarm. "That doesn't sound good," she gasped out.
Wu's eyes widened. "Kai!"
The two burst into the room as they heard the pounding of footsteps. But when they entered, they found Kai alone.
The red ninja was on his hands and knees at the edge of his bed, gagging and gasping for breath.
"Kai!" Nya sped over to him.
"Kai, where did Lloyd go?" Wu demanded.
Wheezing, Kai lifted a shaky hand and pointed to the open window. Then he toppled off the bed and fell to the ground limply.
Nya gasped and knelt beside him. She laid her hand over his forehead. "Why, Sensei?" she choked out. "Why does Lloyd keep traumatizing Kai?"
Wu closed his eyes. "I don't know, Nya," he confessed. "But what I do know is that Lloyd has to be stopped. Let's bring Kai to the hospital room, then we'll decide what we're going to do about that boy!"
* * *
Wu and Nya laid Kai onto another bed and Pixal immediately rushed over to him as Cole, Zane, and Jay walked over to them.
"Let me guess," Cole muttered as he glanced at the unconscious ninja. "Lloyd?"
Wu closed his eyes and sighed. "Since his recent shock, Kai must've been helpless against Lloyd's strength," he murmured. Opening his eyes again, he asked, "how is my brother?"
Zane shrugged. "Not any better, not any worse."
They walked over to the bed where Garmadon was lying. The top part of his head was wrapped in a bandage.
"The good news is, nothing inside is broken," Jay informed. "Only the shock from the blow and the loss of blood knocked him out."
Wu rubbed his beard and nodded in understanding.
"Sensei, we want to know what's going on," Cole stated. "What happened with Lloyd?"
Wu sighed. "I suppose you do. Come on."
He led the ninja to a couch on the other side of the hospital room and they all sat down. He hesitated a moment before beginning.
"It's partly my fault," he started. "I thought Lloyd was ready to hear the truth. I was wrong."
Jay's jaws gaped. "You mean, you told Lloyd about the trance?"
"I did," Wu confirmed.
Cole shifted his feet. "I guess it didn't go so well," he murmured.
Wu nodded. "He seemed fine with it until we told him what he did to Kai," he sighed. "Then he kind of just... lost it. He demanded that we were lying to him, and when we denied it, he attacked us."
"I never realized how short-tempered Lloyd is," Zane breathed.
"It was like he was in the trance," Wu went on. "Except that he wasn't. He knew exactly what he was doing."
"But why, Sensei?" Cole questioned. "How could Lloyd lash out like that at his own father?"
"It was too much for him," Wu sighed. "He's still young. He couldn't set his mind to believe that he had hurt his family like that. And yet, in his stress, he didn't realize how much he had just hurt them."
To be continued...