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Lloyd could remember how it happened in bits and flashes. It was his fault. He shouldn’t have hid it. Maybe then, things could have been different. He knew he shouldn’t have hidden what was happening but after everything with the Oni attacking Ninjago and the recovery… He didn’t want to give anyone any reason to worry. He should have known that would only worsen things. It started off with small things.
He looked down at the cup he dropped accidentally, looking at the shattered glass, watching the tea spread around the shards. It was… A captivating sight. A once whole, useful cup reduced to nothing but useless shards of glass. A shake of his head and he cleaned it up.
Then it began to get worse…
He stared down at the entirety of this morning’s breakfast plates, shattered on the ground, something urging him to break more, destroy more. He reached out, eyes glowing red and picked up his Uncle’s favorite mug.
‘Surely he could get another…’
“What happened?!” He snapped out of it, eyes flashing back to green as he looked at Cole who had his hammer ready. “Oh. I thought you were being attacked. Are you alright?” Cole asked him.
“Yeah. Just got a little distracted.” He says sheepishly, wondering what was really going on with him.
“We all have those days. How about you take it easy and I’ll take over the dishes.” Cole says, setting his hammer aside and walking over to the sink.
“Yeah… Thanks.” Lloyd says and headed out. He paused by the kitchen door, looking at his hammer.
It was heavy, he knew that but it would make a better tool for destruction than his hands. It would have a lot more… Crash. Imagine all the things he could break with it? He reached a hand out to it, eyes glowing red. All he had to do was take it. He pulled his hand back suddenly as if he was burned, eyes clearing up. No. What the hell was he thinking? Why would he want to cause unnecessary destruction? He hurried off outside. Maybe he just needs some fresh air…
And worse…
He stood amongst the destroyed training yard, panting heavily, looking down at his hands. What was going on?! He hadn’t even trained on the course. He had just began to rip it all apart, giggling to himself, ripping claws through wood with ease, breaking the thickest of wood like a twig. It was only when a flicker of something completely eroded the chain he had in his hand did he snap out of his frenzy. His hands were black. They were clawed. Just what is going on?
“Lloyd, y-” He looked around, looking at Nya and Kai horrified.
What will they say? What will they think?!
“… Cole! I thought we agreed to take it easy on the training equipment!” Kai yelled back into the Monastery.
“Buzz of Kai! I was pent up!” Cole yelled back and they all started arguing, leaving Lloyd to look at them, still standing amidst the wreckage.
Things have been like this for a while. Everyone was in a bad mood as is. He couldn’t show them this. A look down at his hands showed them completely normal. He… He’ll figure it out on his own.
And worse still.
Lloyd laughed as he used his green energy to torment a small village, having wandered away from the Monastery in the dead of night. Another charged ball of energy completely destroyed a house, allowing another loud ring of screams to echo.
“Why are you doing this?!” A man asked the green ninja who only grinned at him with sharp teeth and red eyes.
“Why not! Destruction is a thing of beauty!” Lloyd says then laughed before he gasped, snapping out of it. “What am I saying?! What am I doing?! I’m so sorry!” He apologized, green eyes filling with tears.
“Sorry for not doing this sooner!” Lloyd grinned, eyes flashing to red again as he gathered his green energy, the green orb darkening to a dark green, shaded by black smokey. The next hit leveled the entire village, as well as the unfortunate few to be left behind.
He laughed as he looked around, looking for another target to his beautiful destruction.
“Lloyd?!” The words were gasped and the being with strange feet and a blond tipped black tail looked around at the ninja with a sinister grin.
“Come to join me? It’s a little to late but I’m sure we can pick up somewhere else.” He says to them, tail flickering eagerly at the thought of more destruction.
“I don’t understand. Why would you do this Lloyd?” Nya says as Jay looked a lot terrified of him.
“Look at his eyes!” He yelled, pointing out the slitted glowing red orbs.
“Clearly none of you understand the beauty of destruction.” Lloyd says, unimpressed then gathered his dark green and black smokey energy. “I’ll show you- Ugh!” He gripped his head as he stumbled, eyes, flashing green and red.
“S-something is wrong!” Lloyd yelled and the others rushed over to him.
“Lloyd! What the hell is going on?!” Kai yelled as he panted with red tinged eyes.
“I-I don’t know! I’ve been trying to stop it but- but-”
“Why didn’t you tell us?- Never mind that. We need to get him back to Sensei Wu.” Zane say, looking at his teammates.
“Wayyy ahead of you.” Cole says from over the comms, just as the Earth Driller pulled up. “Let’s go!” He yelled once the hatch was down.
Sensei Wu couldn’t do much…
“We can’t just leave him caged up like some kind of animal!” Cole protested as Lloyd watched from the vengestone cage they got somehow.
It had a few scratches which made it clear that he tried getting out before, even though he doesn’t remember doing so now.
“We have no choice. Not until we find some way to stabilize him. I had not anticipated exposure to the Oni cloud would awaken his Oni side like this.” Wu says firmly, standing firm against his angry students.
“There has to be some other way!” Kai yelled, not liking this at all.
“No there isn’t. We have already tried locking him in the spare room. Even with the vengestone cuffs, he got free. We cannot afford another escape attempt. Too many lives have been lost already.” Wu reminded them and they all fell quiet at that.
Jay walked over to where he was.
“We’ll make you better in no time.” He promised in a whisper.
No time was too late…
There were screams and cries echoing through the thick cloud of smoke as people ran, pulling children and families along, others suffocating in the smoke. Glowing red eyes pierced the darkness before the widely grinning being who was the source of the chaos appeared. The ninja stood before him with dread, not wanting to use the tornado of creation against their friend, their brother… But they would if they have to.
“We don’t want to fight you Lloyd…” Zane say as he held his bow and arrow firmly.
“Oh? But I want to fight you Zane. You’d look so much better as bits and pieces…” Lloyd hummed as he kept walking forward.
The wind picked up, the smoke blocking their view of Lloyd momentarily but when it cleared, he looked exactly like he had before.
“Ugh. What happened?” Lloyd groaned, rubbing his head.
“Oh, Lloyd!” Cole says as they quickly rushed towards him- only to be stopped by Zane.
“That’s still not our Lloyd. Our Lloyd whenever he comes around never has these energy signatures.” Zane says with narrowed eyes, hands still holding back his friends.
“What are you talking about?” He asked, stepping forward and Zane drew his bow again.
“Stay back.” He demanded and Lloyd smirked.
“Always too smart for your own good, huh Zane?” Lloyd says with a smirk, changing back in a brief flash of dark green and black. “But playtime is over.” He says with a glare and the ninja looked at each other before charging.
Things got spotty then.
He remembered ripping Zane’s arm off, remembered smacking Cole out of it hard, sending him drop quickly, remembered using his dark powers to blast Nya and Kai away, leaving Jay to face him.
The next thing he remembered was waking up in the monastery, being told that he was cured.
He blinked at that. Cured?
“The Stabili-tea neutralized your Oni genes. You are still needed to take it for awhile but you will be fine from now on.” Wu told him as he blinked tiredly at him. “Rest now nephew. The worst is over.” He whispered and Lloyd blinked but nodded.
He fell asleep after.
Things went surprisingly well after that. People knew of the attacks he launched but assumed he was possessed again. No-one had even blinked twice at him, only to celebrate the green ninja. The others, Wu encouraged him to go with it and he did. He smiled and acted like everything was alright. He soon learned that next to no-one knew about the death tolls. It was on accident really. He had been trying to recover, trying not to shy away from anything easily breakable, anything too violent. He was trying not to fall asleep because the nightmares kept him up. He couldn’t even train without enduring a panic attack. He had been flipping through the tv channels, looking for harmless cartoons to calm his nerves when he came across a report of the villages he leveled, the city he almost completely destroyed. He knew it was best to leave it in the past but he couldn’t for some reason.
He sat there, hearing the damage reports and when they came onto death toll, he swallowed thickly, squeezing his eyes shut in preparation for the impact the number would have. But they hadn’t said any numbers. In fact, they said there was no casualties. Lloyd know that was a lie. The blank, lifeless eyes looking at him in his nightmares proved that it was a lie. When he finally gained the courage to ask Sensei Wu, he told him the mayor of New Ninjago City decided to conceal it. He reassured him he didn’t approve but there wasn’t much they could do about it.
Lloyd wasn’t pleased. Those people he killed, he murdered… They deserved better…
_______________________________________________
He bit back a scream as he jolted awake, washed in a cold sweat. He panted heavily as he remained sitting up, gripping the sheets so tight, his fists were white. He felt his stomach lurch, seeing the bodies again and he quickly rushed to the bathroom, making sure to do so as quietly as possible. He threw up what little food he managed to eat earlier and then some. Once he was finally finished dry heaving, he slumped against the toilet, a shudder washing over him. He glanced out the opened door and was glad the others hadn’t woken up. He pulled himself up off the ground then walked over, locking the door. He then rinsed out his mouth and washed his face before sighing, looking down into the sink. It had been almost half a year now since and the nightmares never stop. The paranoia kept going. There was no recovery.
He looked up at himself in the mirror, looking at his pale face and dark rings under his eyes. Looking more specifically at his green eyes. Not red. Not him. He hung his head, holding onto the edges of the sink as he looked down.
“It’s over now…. I know inside…” He tells himself softly, feeling tears sting his eyes. “No will ever know… The sorry tale of destruction… And those who died.” He squeezed his eyes shut at the flashes of bodies, their tales, their lives swept under the rug for his sake.
In a way, he didn’t want them to know. Didn’t want them to see the monster he had become.
“No one must ever know.” He whispered, tears falling into the sink. “They only see the tragedy…” He whispered, looking towards the door, knowing his friends were still peacefully asleep outside it.
“They not see my intent… The Shadow of my evil… Will forever kill… The good that I have meant…” He says softly, gripping the sink tightly as he squeezed his eyes shut, more tears falling from his eyes.
“Am I good man?” He asked himself, looking up at his reflection, flinching once a flash of him appeared, making him step back quickly. “Am I a mad man?” He questions, gripping his hair tightly with both hands as he looked down, eyes haunted.
“It’s such a fine line…” He whispered, tears flowing endlessly down his cheeks. “Between a good man and I…” He says, voice wavering at the end, missing the shadowy form that made theirself present in the mirror.
“Do you really think…” Lloyd froze, terrified at that familiar voice. “That I would ever let you go?” They questioned as Lloyd glanced up, his throat tight, panic taking him at the familiar red eyes.
“Did you think I’d set you free?” His Oni self questions, tilting his head to the side.“If you do I’m sad to say, it simply isn’t so.” The Oni grinned widely, revealing sharp, jagged teeth as Lloyd looked on, horrified.
“You will never get away from me..” He declared and that struck anger in Lloyd.
“All that you are is a face in the mirror!” Lloyd yelled at him, stepping forward and gripping the sink. “I close my eyes and you disappear!” He narrowed his eyes at him.
‘Huh? What?’
‘What’s going on?’
“I’m what you face when you face in the mirror!” The Oni countered. “Long as you live, I will still be here.” He grinned even wider, not phased at all by his sudden burst of anger.
“All that you are is the end of a Nightmare, all that you are is a dying scream!” Lloyd yelled, getting up close and personal with the mirror, the Oni momentarily startled. “After tonight, I shall end these demon dreams!” He declared with a snarl.
‘Lloyd?!’
“This is not a dream, you fool!” The Oni growled as he leaned forward, out of the mirror and Lloyd stumbled back, falling to the ground in his surprise. “And it will never end! This one is the nightmare that goes on!” He yelled as he hopped out of the mirror, standing before Lloyd in all of his dark, clawed glory.
“I am here to stay no matter what you may pretend.” The Oni growled with a stomp of his hind leg, cracking the tile beneath it. “And I’ll flourish long after your gone!” He grinned at a cowering Lloyd.
“Soon you will die and my silence will hide you.” Lloyd says, finding his voice. “You cannot choose but to lose control!” He yelled at the Oni.
'Lloyd! Let us in!’
“You can’t control me, I live deep inside you.” The Oni says smugly. “Each day you feel me devour your soul.” He grinned impossibly wide, the whites of his eyes going black.
“I don’t need you to survive, like you need me!” Lloyd yelled, getting to his feet, sneering at the Oni. “I’ll become whole as you dance with death!” He spat, gathering his green energy in his hands.
“And I’ll rejoice as you breathe your final breath!” He yelled, attacking the Oni who only dodged with a laugh before jumping at him, engulfing him in darkness.
'Lloyd! Please!’
“I’ll live inside you forever!” The Oni yelled, a large red eye appearing over Lloyd’s shoulder.
“No!” Lloyd yelled, turning around to face it looking on horrified as the Oni’s face appeared much larger in the pitch black darkness, much like the Overlord had all those years ago.
'Lloyd!’
“With darkness itself by my side!” The Oni continued as more tears filled Lloyd’s eyes.
“No!” Lloyd yelled, the tears rushing down his cheeks.
*Pound, pound, pound!*
'Lloyd!’
“And I know that now and forever,” The Oni says, with a wide smile as the darkness wrapped around his body, slowly engulfing him. “They’ll never be able to separate Oni from Lloyd!” He grinned as the darkness swallowed Lloyd.
Lloyd’s eyes glowed green from the darkness.
“Can’t you see it’s-” He broke free, standing against his Oni self with a fanged snarl. “Over now? It’s time to die!” He yelled at the Oni.
'Lloyd! For fucks sake-’
“No, not I, only you!” The Oni says with a never fading grin.
“If I die, you’ll die too!” Lloyd yelled, getting desperate.
“You’ll die in me, I’ll be you!” The Oni snarled and Lloyd gritted his teeth.
“Damn you, Oni! Set me Free!” He demanded but his face screamed pleading as the tears kept coming.
“Can’t you see? You are me!” The Oni yelled and Lloyd stepped back in horror, back hitting the sink and he quickly turned around.
'Have you found the key?!’
“No!” He yelled, seeing the truth, seeing that he looked exactly like he did before, like the Oni. “Deep inside…” He says, hanging his head, trying to fight.
“I am you! You are Oni!” The Oni snarled, taking over ad Lloyd’s eyes flashed red.
“No, never!” Lloyd says, shaking his head as his eyes flashed back to green.
“Yes Forever!” The Oni corrects with his wide grin.
“God damn you, Oni! Take all your evil deeds and rot in the Cursed Realm!” Lloyd yelled at the Oni from the darkness that has taken over his mind and the Oni laughed evilly.
“I’ll see you there, Lloyd!” He says, knowing he’s won.
“Never!!!” Lloyd yelled outside of his mind, tears dripping down his blackened cheeks as he tried to fight but he was pulled under, the darkness suffocating him as the Oni took over.
The Oni only laughed evilly, their laugh echoing into the night as the dark green and black power he gathered in his hands became dark red and black. Dark shadowy tentacles with an undertone of glowing red slipped free from his back, ready to destroy as much as their host.
His friends on the other side of the door knew… They failed… They we’re too late…
The Oni has returned.