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

Chapter 30

Lloyd tossed That Sword into the bottom of his bag. Ariana, who was helping him pack, raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you should bring that?" she inquired.

Lloyd shrugged. "It could come in handy," he murmured. "And it's not like the ninja have to know or anything."

"Works for me," Ariana said as they continued to pack.

Nervousness rained down on Lloyd, but he tried his best not to show it. That night he would go back to live with the ninja in the monastery. His breathing became heavy as he thought about it.

He slumped onto the edge of his bed. "I'm not ready, Ariana," he admitted. "I'm not."

Ariana sat beside him. "I know it's sooner than you expected," she murmured. "But you don't have to be ready." She nudged him. "You just have to pretend you are."

Lloyd shook his head and let out a soft laugh. "I guess that's it," he breathed. He rose to his feet again and, taking a deep breath, rested his hands on his hips. "So what else?" he asked, gazing at his bag.

Ariana replied, but Lloyd's thoughts blocked it out as he felt something in his pocket. But I never put something in there, he thought. Confused, he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled sheet of paper. He brought it to his night table and laid it over the surface, unfolding it the best he could.

Ariana walked up beside him and examined the paper. "That's Joseph's handwriting," she observed. "It looks like notes."

Lloyd scratched his head. He must've accidentally slipped it into my pocket when he grabbed me from under the table, he thought. He looked at it closer and pointed to a sentence. "Look here," he began. "It says 'whoever obtains the four elemental weapons will receive uncontrollable power'." He let out a soft gasp. "Of course!" he exclaimed in realization. "That explains it. Joseph wants the weapons for himself so he can take control over us."

Ariana furrowed her eyebrows. "That seems reasonable, but I wouldn't jump to any conclusions," she told him.

But Ariana didn't know what Lloyd knew. She didn't know Joseph had threatened him to give him Kai's sword. Lloyd looked down at the paper again. Uncontrollable power? he thought. There's no way I'm giving that to Joseph!

He glanced sideways at Ariana and she returned his gaze. "What is it?" she asked, seeing the concern in his eyes.

But there's no way I'm letting Ariana fall straight into a trap. Lloyd sat down on his bed and Ariana sat beside him. "We need to talk," he started.

Ariana nodded. "Shoot."

Lloyd hesitated for a moment before finding himself spilling out everything. He told her all the way from when he found the Overlord's knife to when Joseph had threatened him last night.

"I can't lose you, Ariana," he finished. "You mean the world to me."

Ariana took a deep breath, eyes filled with shock. "W-well, at least you told me," she breathed. She shook her head. "Don't worry about me," she told him. "I can handle myself."

Lloyd gazed at her. "A-are you sure?" he stammered.

Ariana scoffed and turned her head. Lloyd wondered if he had offended her. "Trust me, I've been through worse things than this," she murmured. "And now that I know what to look out for, I'll be fine." She looked at him again. "You just need to make sure Joseph doesn't get the elemental sword. I can look out for the other three."

Lloyd smiled. "I love you," he breathed.

Ariana smirked. "I know." She rose to her feet. "Now come on, let's finish your packing."