Darkness from Within #4: Fading (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Prologue

"My destiny wasn't to become the green ninja, but to protect him."

Kai's voice came like a soft breeze against the heated air. Shakily, Lloyd turned his head upward to look at the red ninja. The boy was shaking from head to toe, still clinging to Kai's leg for dear life. Fear was still fresh inside of him and when he met the red ninja's gaze it only deepened. But Kai's eyes were warm, his smile reassuring, and Lloyd slowly felt himself begin to relax.

Kai placed his arm around the boy. "It's okay, little buddy," he breathed. "You're safe now."

Relishing the comforting gesture, Lloyd finally began to loosen his grip. Only minutes before, he had been trapped inside an erupting volcano, Kai being his only hope for survival. He started to tremble as he recalled the horrid experience.

Fire blazed all around. Spouts of lava threatened the volcano to explode at any minute. Lloyd let out a cry of fear as he found himself hopelessly trapped in the sea of lava, his only rocky platform crumbling by the second.

His face began to heat up. His hood barely shielded him from the intense warmth. The platform shook more fiercely and he fell onto his hands and knees, breath quickening. Eyes stinging, he glanced around desperately for any sign of help. His gaze fell on the volcano entrance, where multiple boulders now covered over it, trapping him inside as well as the others out. They couldn't help him now.

"Ahhh!" Lloyd jerked backward as the platform dipped into the fire and he turned his head to see the tip of his cloak burning with flames. Gasping, he hurriedly stamped his feet on it until it sizzled out. Heart pounding, he cowered at the edge of the platform, fear overtaking him.

Grunt.

The sound caught Lloyd's attention and his gaze snapped toward the volcano edge, where he could just make out Kai leaping down onto a boulder near the lava's edge. Too terrorized to call out to him at first, Lloyd watched as the red ninja slid onto his stomach and reached his hand as far as it would go. Lloyd's gaze followed his fingers and found the Fangblade laid on a rock not far from the red ninja, slowly beginning to slip into the lava.

"Come on!" Kai grunted in frustration, face clenching as he strained his muscles to reach the blade. "Why won't my power unlock?"

Letting out another cry, Lloyd jumped backward as a spout of lava shot up in front of his face, missing him by an inch. Before he could process what he was doing, he screamed out, "Kai! Help me!"

He had caught the red ninja's attention. Kai turned toward him, but remained still. Lloyd gazed back at him, eyes round and desperate. He held his breath as he wondered what Kai would do, but, to his dismay, the red ninja snapped his gaze away and turned back to the Fangblade.

That was his last hope. Now Lloyd knew he would surely die right then and there. It had been pointless to count on Kai, anyway. Lloyd knew the red ninja had never liked him. He never paid any attention to him, except when Lloyd would find himself getting into mischief—then Kai would pay enough attention to yell at him. The red ninja probably wanted him gone. Having him along as another person to take care of probably frustrated Kai. The ninja was too overly-obsessed with becoming the green ninja and defeating Lord Garmadon to care about much anything else.

"Hang on, Lloyd!" Kai's voice broke him from his thoughts.

Lloyd turned back to the red ninja in surprise just as he was readying himself to jump. He sped forward and leaped off his boulder, landing beside Lloyd with a thump. Lloyd gasped and wobbled on his feet as the platform shook at the extra weight and he tumbled into Kai. Lloyd's eyes rounded in fear as he looked up at the red ninja, expecting Kai to be angry, but, to his surprise, the ninja wrapped his arm around him comfortingly. "Come on," he said. "Let's get you out of here!"

The red ninja lifted the boy into his arms and Lloyd wrapped his arms around his neck, clinging on so tightly he was positive he was cutting off Kai's circulation. "B-but, the Fangblade!" he gasped, still wondering why Kai was saving him.

Kai turned his head as the blade dropped into the lava. "Forget about it!" he exclaimed, looking around for a way out. "This whole place is coming apart!"

Lloyd buried his face into Kai's shoulder, whimpering. He felt Kai's grip around him tighten securely and he shut his eyes as the red ninja began hopping from boulder to boulder. He didn't dare look since he was still uncertain if they would get out in time, but for some reason, Lloyd felt safer already. Protected in Kai's warmth, he felt everything was going to be okay. He knew everything was going to be okay.

"You've got quite a grip, big-shot!"

The voice jolted Lloyd back to the present. Kai was laughing as he shook his leg, where Lloyd was still hugging with all his strength. Embarrassed, the boy completely let go and turned his gaze to the ground.

Kai knelt beside him and lifted Lloyd's chin with his hand until their gazes locked. "You're something special now, aren't you, little buddy?"

Lloyd drew in a shaky breath, hardly able to take everything in. The green ninja... He swallowed hard, just able to rasp a few sounds out. "I-I... I d-don't... I..."

Sensing his fear, Kai smiled and brought Lloyd closer to him, wrapping his arms around him in a close hug. "Don't worry, big-shot," he soothed. "I'll look after you from now on."

Lloyd put his arms around the red ninja's neck as he did in the volcano, although this time slightly less tight. He felt reassurance swarm through him and he relaxed in Kai's comfort. Right there, he knew something special had formed between them. He knew he had found the big brother he had never had. The older figure in his life he had never experienced from his father or anyone else. Kai would take care of him, and he would look up to Kai and listen to whatever the red ninja said.

A bond they had formed. A bond so close it could never be broken. A bond Lloyd would make sure would never die. And nothing would break the two of them apart.

Nothing.

Until one certain trance...