the other side | ninjago

lloyd

Their friend was there. Something was happening, but more than just her control. Something inside him was different. Unlike Zane and Cole, it almost seemed as though he was now functioning on his own accord. His movements were fluid, he was speaking, and showing ounces of emotions that the others were not capable of.

They didn't understand how this could have shifted so fast; just moments ago he was fine.

Kai, still struggling to breathe, was caught in Lloyd's grip. Nya and Jay continued to scream from where they stood as they struggled to free themselves from the vines as well. Lloyd caught them all off guard as he began to speak.

"You were always so jealous, Kai. You could never hold back the anger you felt when I became the green ninja. You always thought it would be you, but look at you now. You were moments away from passing away at the hands of the very person that took what you wanted. Pathetic," said Lloyd. 

The team was still stunned. These were the words of someone fully aware of their surroundings, but not the friend they remembered. Lloyd would never behave in this manner. It had to be something she did, but no one knew.

"Lloyd please! "Let him go!" screamed Nya with the little bit of breath she had left from yelling. She was afraid that he was going to kill him.

Lloyd turned to Nya, his face still smiling even though he still had Kai.

"Lloyd, stop!" said Jay, also screaming now with his face fully pulled to the ground by vines.

Lloyd then turned to face Kai one more time before he took his last breath. Kai managed to get one more sentence out, hoping it would sway him to let go. 

"Lloyd, don't be like your father," said Kai, struggling to even get the words out.

Lloyd's face instantly changed from a smirk to a worried expression. He threw Kai out of his grasp and collapsed to the ground. The vines that held Nya and Jay, let go. The two then ran past Lloyd, who was on the ground, to Kai. 

Kai was able to reach him. What they were worried about though is that, Lloyd remembered everything that had just happened. None of the others had remembered anything under control. He also couldn't stop himself. This was now an evil growing within him, not just surface level. 

"Lloyd?" said Jay. 

The three ninjas turned to face him now. Lloyd's face dropped in horror from what he had just done. 

"You guys need to go now," said Lloyd, horrified by what would happen next.

"No, we are going to help you," said Nya.

"NO. I must go now before something happens again. I cannot hurt you guys again." He got up and began to walk towards the sides of the ship. Before he made it towards the ladder down, he let out a large yell, grasping his arm where the vines were under his skin. They were hurting him inside and somehow were changing him. He fell to the ground once again. 

"Guys, go!" yelled Lloyd again, "get him out of here," he gestured to Kai. 

Suddenly, he went quiet.

The quiet was ominous. The ninja knew it wouldn't be for long, so they got up and ran.

Lloyd turned again, but this time it was his evil half again. He got up and went to find them once again. He entered the lower deck of the bounty and entered the rooms. He turned a corner since he heard whispers coming from that way. He turned a corner and-

BAM

From behind him, he had been hit again by an object. He fell to the ground, and behind him were Sensei Wu and Misako. Sensei Wu had whacked him over the head with his staff.

"What is going on?" said Misako, looking at her son on the floor.

"We don't know," said Nya, "one minute he was fine then the other he was pure evil. Now he also has markings on his arm."

"Let me see them," said Misako.

Nya turned him over to reveal the markings on his arm. Misako gasped.

"Oh no," said Misako.

"What?" said Jay.

"These are Acer palmatum," she warned, "an infection that runs deep, causing even the purest of hearts to go bad."

"It gives powers?" asked Kai, finally regaining his strength.

"Yes, the infected get exactly what you have seen," said Misako. "I have only seen them a very few times. They are  extremely rare."

"Wait, so that means Sadie too is infected," said Nya.

"Yes, it does seem so," said Wu.

"How do we fix this?" asked Kai. They had to act fast because he was going to wake up soon.

Lloyd waking up would soon be at the bottom of their priority list, as a loud crash erupted from the upper deck. The five dashed off to investigate the commotion. When they got to the top deck, they saw Sadie standing across from the bounty.

"I believe you have something of mine," she shouted.

"Sadie, we know this is not you. There's something inside you. We can help," said Nya.

"Now, why would I need your help? I have everything I need," she said back.

She then whistled, thinking Lloyd was still under her control but came to find he would not appear.

"So, I see you took him down. Well, that did not take too long."

Before they were able to respond, the five of them were grabbed by the feet by vines seeping through the wooden floors of the bounty. Sadie looked confused because, for once, it was not her causing this. She looked around to see what could have done this.

Before she could even question it, Lloyd walked up the stairs.

"Oh, well, this is much more convenient now, isn't it?" said Sadie, laughing. "Now let's attend to more important matters."

The two left the bounty, and as they did, the vines began to sink back into the floors of the bounty.

"So now how exactly do we fix this?" asked Jay.

"I don't exactly know..." said Misako.