Garmadon's 'new station' was to be taken to the beach to wait. Lloyd watched his father being led away, wishing he would at the very least turn around, but of course he didn't. Of course, Lloyd told himself, because he was evil. Why would he be expected to do good?
"Lloyd?" Nya turned to him, her eyes full of concern. Their hands were chained behind them, preventing her from offering any physical comfort, but Lloyd could tell Nya wanted to. "We're gonna be okay, you know. Things will work out in the end; they always do."
The warriors around them laughed, and Lloyd cringed. Nya kept her head held high, but there was no mistaking the look of fear in her eyes.
"Here we are." The warrior in the lead stopped suddenly, and Lloyd and Nya were shoved forwards, allowing them to see where they were. Lloyd's eyes widened as he stared down into the mineshaft, seemingly bottomless and full of dark, shimmering rock. The warriors stepped away from the edge, and Lloyd felt a jolt of panic run through him.
"So what?" He said, forcing himself to remain calm, "you're just gonna throw us down there?"
"No," the warrior said. Lloyd didn't like the glee in his voice. Anything a stone warrior had to be happy about couldn't bode well for him and Nya. "You are going to inhale this."
Lloyd hadn't expected this response, and when a slab of black stone was shoved under his nose, his confusion only doubled. He sniffed tentatively, gagging when the stench of rotting flesh and blood assaulted his nostrils. The warrior holding the stone did not seem satisfied with this, and he shook it slightly.
"Why isn't it working?" Someone demanded angrily. There was a general murmur of agreement, and the warrior with the stone tore it away from Lloyd's face, cursing loudly. "Dragon blood," he snarled, "it keeps him safe."
"Not her, though," someone said hopefully, and all eyes turned to Nya. She stepped back, glancing over her shoulder at the drop down the mineshaft. "Keep away from me," she said warningly, but of course it did nothing. Two warriors surged forwards to grab her, and the one with the stone shoved it into her face, laughing as she gagged, her face twisted into an expression of pure disgust.
"Nya!" Lloyd's eyes widened as her skin began to grey, like a fog was creeping over her complexion. She was trembling violently, making guttural retching noises and spitting.
"Lloyd," she said fearfully, turning to him with an expression of pure terror. Lloyd recoiled in shock; her eyes were going red and starting to glow. She gasped suddenly, the sound breathless and strained, like wind rattling lose bones, and her head fell forwards against her chest. The stone was pulled away, and the warriors cheered.
"Nya?" Lloyd stared at her, his heart hammering. She was panting hard, her head still bowed. She had ceased her shaking, but her skin was now grey, and she was dripping with blackened sweat. She let out a low grunt and tore her wrists free from her chains, eliciting a loud cheer from among the warriors. Lloyd gasped, stepping back as far as he could go. The sky above them turned grey, and rain began to fall.
When she lifted her head to look at him, eyes red and gleaming with hunger, the woman who stood before him was Nya no longer.
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Lexi emerged from the tent and into the rain in silence. Behind her, Overlord was slipping from his warrior's body and resuming him form as a shapeless piece of shadow. She allowed the rain to wash away the blackened blood from her wrist, watching it slide down her arm like tears from a wound, dripping onto the earth below.
"You are free to go," Overlord called from within the tent. Lexi didn't look back, afraid of what she might see. The dagger was tucked in her belt, and she winced every time it shifted, digging into her stomach and reminding her of what she had to do.
Lexi walked forwards blindly, heading for the jungle. She wanted nothing more than to hide away, curl up beneath the leaves and let the rain wash over her. Vanishing into the dense jungle seemed appealing, and soon found herself pressed up against a tree trunk, hugging her knees to her chest, her chin rested on her bent legs. Her wrist still stung, and she kept mistaking the rain for excess blood, drooling from her scar. She toyed with the dagger, flipping it over in her hands and running a finger across the edge of the blade. The rain had washed the blood from this, too, and now little pebbles of water were sticking to it.
"Oh, by the dragon," she whispered, "what have I done?"
A sudden rumbling sound roused Lexi from her stupor, and she looked up to see what had caused it. It was deep and rolled like thunder, but the earth shook and the sound moved, like it was gliding across the ground.
Lexi stood up and squinted through the foliage to see the camp in the distance. She hadn't strayed too far from it, not knowing where exactly to go, and she could still see what was going on.
The warriors were on the move, bringing with them their weapons and vehicles, dressed for war. They marched by the dozen, holding aloft spears and clubs and massive stone swords, exiting the camp and crashing through the jungle towards the beach. Lexi watched them go, not moving from where she stood. The rain cascaded over her head like a waterfall, the leaves above her dropping it like buckets. She wiped it from her eyes and kept watching.
At the end of the line, hovering high in the air, was Overlord. If he'd had a body, he'd be holding it like a king. Beneath him walked a person, shoulders squared, fists clenched. It took Lexi a moment to realize it was Nya.
A sudden stab of pain hit her and she stumbled backwards, reaching out and clutching the tree for support. Nya and Lloyd had been taken as well, and Nya was a slave of the Overlord now. Lexi looked up to see her friend vanishing, following Overlord and his army. Where was Lloyd in all this?
She waited for the army to be gone, waited for their footsteps to fade out, replaced by the lonely sound of rain, before she made her move. Lexi darted out of the trees and rushed for the camp, running through the rows of abandoned tents, calling out Lloyd's name.
She didn't know what led her there, but she found herself rushing for the mineshaft. It was a lucky thing, too, because that's where her brother was.
"Lloyd!" She froze in place when she saw him, momentarily unable to think, or react, or do anything other than just stare. Lloyd was lying on his side, facing her, blood pooling beneath him, soaked from the rain, his pale skin decorated with angry purple bruises.
"Hey," he croaked as she ran towards him, unfreezing at the sound of his voice. "It's not as bad as it looks, I promise."
Lexi fell to her knees at his side, her hands shaking as she reached out to take his wrist in her hands. His pulse was steady and strong, and when he rolled onto his back, the source of the blood proved to be just as he'd said. There was a small slice against his chest, only wet now because of the rain. He pressed a hand against it and winced, and Lexi batted his hand away.
"Are you alright?" She asked, looking him over for more wounds. His right eye was slightly swollen, and his lip was cut and bleeding. His arms and wrists were spotted with dark bruises that stood out against his exceptionally pale skin, and his shirt had been cleaved open, revealing his neat cut. Her face darkened. "How did this happen?"
Lloyd bit his lip, his eyes swivelling upwards to gaze into the heavens. "They did something to Nya, and she's... she's evil. It's like she's been possessed, only no one entered her body."
Lexi's eyes widened. "Nya did this to you?"
Lloyd frowned. "I wasn't going to fight her. She just... attacked me. I didn't want to hurt her, so..."
"But it... it wasn't her, right?" Lexi asked, using a piece of Lloyd's already torn shirt to clean the wound on his chest. "She wasn't in control of herself."
Lloyd nodded, propping himself up on his elbows. "She wouldn't have attacked me if she was, Lexi."
Lexi nodded, unable to meet Lloyd's gaze. "I know."
Lloyd winced as Lexi pressed the makeshift cloth against his wound. "Leave it," he muttered as she batted his intrusive hands away, "it's clean, Lex." He pushed himself into a sitting position, and Lexi backed off, letting him sit. "What about you— are you okay?" Lloyd gave her a brief once-over, and Lexi discreetly hid her scar. "How'd you escape Overlord?"
Lexi opened her mouth wordlessly, one hand unconsciously gripping the dagger in her belt. "I... he let me go."
Lloyd stared at her, but it was with confusion, not suspicion. He didn't suspect a thing. Why would he, after all? "What? Why would he do that?" His face darkened. "What did he want from you?"
Lexi swallowed hard. "He... he told me he wanted to leave me alive, because... because he likes a challenge. He wanted me to be able to try and defeat him." She forced herself to look Lloyd in the eye, wishing he didn't look so trusting. "He just let me walk away."
"Well, I don't think that'll help us now," Lloyd said solemnly, glancing at the deserted camp. "The countdown is so close to ending, and they have everything they need."
Lexi bit her lip. The dagger seemed to dig into her skin, and she wanted to snap it in half. "Maybe. But we can still try to stop them."
"We can," Lloyd echoed doubtfully, as Lexi rose to her feet. She extended a hand for him to grab, and she hauled him to his feet. Beneath them, the rickety wooden platform creaked, and a lose pebble dropped from the rocky edged and bounced against the sides of the mineshaft, falling into the blackness below.
"Let's go," Lloyd said pointedly, as the platform shifted again. Lexi nodded, and the two ran off, Lloyd limping slightly, and Lexi still clutching the hilt of that damn dagger close to her body, as if it would somehow cease to exist if she just held it tight enough.
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The rain turned the sky grey and the sea black, white foam rolling against the shore as the tide washed in and out. The sand was darkened and wet, and overhead, thunder tumbled across the heavens, matching the beat of the army that marched through the the jungle.
Near the beach, waiting in the foliage with baited breath, the remaining ninja crouched beneath the wet leaves. They were soaked to the bone, their hair and clothing sticking to their skin, shivering and rubbing themselves up and down to keep the blood flowing. The rain grew heavier and harder, and it became more and more difficult to see as the air turned dark.
"I hear them coming," Zane said flatly. He was gripping his shurikens tightly, his gaze focused steadily on the waves and the sand. He wasn't exactly sure what the plan was, or if they even had one. Stealing the helmet seemed so far away now, a thing of the distant past. He could scarcely even remember why they'd ever thought it was clever, or how it had gone so horribly wrong.
"Guys," Cole said, his voice shaking, "maybe we shouldn't—"
"Don't you dare say we shouldn't fight them," Kai snapped, glaring at him under a mop of dripping hair, "not after what they did. They have my sister, they have Lloyd, they—"
"They have Lexi," Jay interjected, looking at Cole pointedly, "they took her right in front of you."
"I know," Cole said sharply, shooing Jay and Kai a glare so fierce it made them both physically recoil, "and they still have them. Don't you think it's a good idea not to antagonize the people who have our friends held captive?"
The silence cast over the group by this pronouncement was broken suddenly by the arrival of the stone army. They marched onto the beach, spreading themselves out the stand along the shoreline, weapons raised, heads held high. The rain washed over them in waterfalls and they didn't flinch, standing there like a mindless statues they were.
"They wouldn't hurt them," Misako said uncertainly, "if they wanted to, they'd have done it by now, and it would be too late." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm fighting for my children this time."
The end of the line was fast approaching, but still there was no sign of any prisoners. Cole watched with rising anxiety as he wondered exactly how badly Overlord needed Lexi alive.
"Are we attacking or what?" Kai asked, though he sounded decidedly less enthusiastic than before. No one responded, and he remained still and hidden.
Overlord came suddenly into view, and Cole instinctively shrank back, one hand flying to the hilt of his sword. He floated by in a rippling, gyrating mass, the bulbous eye not even swivelling to face the ninja.
"Guys," Jay said weakly, tugging on Cole's sleeve. "Look at... look at her."
He was pointing to the woman walking beneath Overlord, whom Cole hadn't noticed until Jay pointed her out. She was grey-skinned, red-eyed and bloodied, her knuckles scraped, signs of a recent brawl evident— all signs, that is, except for any visible wounds. Her hair was matted and wet, and the rain washed down her skin, but she wasn't shivering, and she didn't seem to even notice the foul weather. And she was Nya.
"What did they do to her?" Kai gasped, staring, white-faced at his sister. Jay was clutching his arm, his eyes wide, his mouth agape. Cole placed a shaking hand on his shoulder, a painful pit growing in his chest that was half anger, half fear.
"Dark matter," Wu said gravely. He hadn't spoken in a long time, and his tone was soft and broken-sounding. "I feared this would happen."
"But you didn't think to mention it?" Kai hissed. "Look at her! She has red eyes! She looks like fucking Garmadon, for the realm's sake!"
"Quiet," Misako urged, glancing nervously at the stone army. They were now standing in a perfectly straight line on the shore, facing the ocean. Overlord was floating behind them, his wispy edges grazing their shoulders and backs lightly. Nya— or the woman Nya was now— stood like a sentry behind him, shuffling along across the sand as he moved, watching him almost like she loved him.
"She'll change back, right?" Jay asked nervously. "She... she isn't gone... forever... is she?"
"I don't know," Wu said. He sounded so genuinely mournful it was almost unnatural. Cole wondered if Wu would the feel the same way about all of them, or if he even felt this way at all.
"Oh," Kai said suddenly, gripping Cole's shoulder and shaking it. "Shit, shit—"
Cole looked up to where Kai was and went absolutely still, his blood freezing in his veins. Overlord was still floating along, inspecting his stone army, standing at attention obediently. They hadn't budged an inch, and they were still facing away, towards the ocean. Nya, too, had not budged, and was now standing perfectly still, her eyes wide and her lips parted just barely. Her head was turned sideways, and she was no longer staring at her Overlord.
Now she was looking directly at them.