Darkness from Within #1: Twisted Paths (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

"Got you!" Lloyd exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. Then he jerked in surprise as he spotted the short, black hair of his mysterious carer. Before Lloyd could see his face, he turned and sped out of the cell.

Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. But I thought it was a girl, he mused. Scratching his head, he slumped back to the ground. This might be harder than I thought.

* * *

That morning, Lloyd turned his head as his cell door opened and Phil stepped in. He blinked in confusion and rose to his feet.

Phil looked at him uneasily. "The Overlord wants to see you," he told him.

Lloyd's eyes widened, a prickle of fear going down his spine. He remembered how the Overlord had nearly killed him, and without his mysterious carer, he probably would've succeeded. "Wh-why?" he asked.

Phil shrugged, grabbing Lloyd by the arm. "Who knows?" he muttered. "But I have my orders."

Lloyd gasped as Phil tugged him forward more roughly than he expected. Phil led him out the cell door, and Lloyd screwed up his face as he stepped into the light. He glanced around and the dreary walls of the place and felt his stomach twist uncomfortably.

"Come on," Phil huffed, tugging Lloyd forward again.

Lloyd staggered onward, warily looking from side to side. They walked through the dimly-lit hallways; the farther away they got from the cell, the more Baddies filled the rooms. Lloyd's heart pounded in his chest and he looked at the ground, aware of the suspicious eyes on him from all around.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the green ninja!" a voice snarled from beside him.

Lloyd looked up in alarm to see another Baddie had drawn up beside him—one he didn't recognize. The muscular man had slick black hair and narrowed brown eyes, with a hard black and gray suit. Lloyd gulped, seeing how hostile the Baddie looked, and gazed down at the shackles around his wrists, knowing he couldn't defend himself if he needed to.

He shrank backward as the man leaned closer to him with a sniff. "Strange," he muttered. "I thought you'd be older."

Phil rolled his eyes. "We're going to see the Overlord, Joseph," he snapped.

The Baddie furrowed his eyebrows and straightened up.

"Not sure if you'd want to come with us," Phil went on, "since, you know, what happened last time."

Joseph gave a contemptuous spat, but eventually he turned away with a scowl. Lloyd shivered when he was gone and turned back to Phil. "Wh-who was that?" he asked, a bit nervous.

"Joseph," Phil replied with annoyance. "He's always getting into everybody's business. He's almost as annoying as Harry and Simon."

"He didn't seem too happy," Lloyd went on.

Phil snorted. "He's still sour because Simon and Harry are getting their bonds off before him," he said. "Those three were pretty close, until Simon and Harry were assigned as partners and pretty much kicked Joseph out of the group. Then he got stuck with Katy."

So every Venturer has a partner, Lloyd thought. "Katy?" he pressed.

"Oh, right, Joseph's partner," Phil continued, seeming to forget Lloyd didn't know the other Baddies. "Joseph hated her at first, saying she was 'a much too spoiled know-it-all'. But now he likes her—I mean, really likes her."

Lloyd nodded. "So they're friends now? That's good, because—" His voice broke off as he caught the amusement glittering in Phil's eyes. A burst of realization hit him. "Oh, you mean like—like that," he stammered.