Darkness from Within #7: A Promise Broken (Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

Every day was the same for Lloyd. Wake up. Order people around. Look intimidating. Eat. Sleep, and start all over again. It was boring. It was dull. And yet, the routine made Lloyd's heart begin to harden.

He was frustrated. He was angry. He was trapped. And he hated it. He hated being helpless and out of control, but he hated that he had to act like he was in control of everything. That the Overlord and his schemes meant nothing to him. That the lives of the Baddies meant nothing to him. That the markings everyone held meant nothing to him.

The markings.

The markings.

I promise you, I will get you out of this place.

The markings!

Lloyd shot up in his bed one night, the realization finally hitting him. His nagging chest. His promise. The Baddies.

The markings.

"Not everyone here is as bad as you goodies think," Phil said. "We just... don't really have a choice."

Determination hardened inside of Lloyd. "Well, I'll do it."

"Do what?"

"I'll set you free," Lloyd stated. "Once I get out of here, I'll come back for the rest of you. You'll see."

Phil's face twisted with disbelief. "Don't say that," he murmured. "There were lots of others who said the same thing, but as the years went by, they forgot."

Lloyd straightened. "I won't forget," he told him.

Phil shook his head. "Don't get our hopes up."

"I'm serious!" Lloyd exclaimed. "I promise you, I will get you out of this place."

Lloyd felt his mind start to whirl. He had forgotten, just as Phil said he would. But now he remembered. He remembered everything. His cell. His mysterious carer. The words Phil had shared with him.

"Every Baddie has this marking. It's a bind, bound to the Overlord. Once you're marked, you can kiss your freedom goodbye."

"There's a way to escape—for some. When the Venturers complete their mission, they're free to go. But some people were bound here since birth, and they're bound for life. People like me."

Lloyd's heart began to pound. His breathing came in gasps. Now he understood. The promise that had nagged him for years. I promised Phil, he thought. I promised I would get him and the others out of here.

Dread rushed through him. But now I'm stuck here myself. He pulled down his sleeve and looked down at his wrist, drawing his fingers over the black lines of his marking. Everyone joins the Baddies thinking it's all fun and games...

That's what I thought, he realized. And I got myself trapped just like the others. If only I had remembered, then I could've fulfilled my promise like I meant to and not gotten myself stuck here. Frustration boiled inside of him. Why didn't I remember?

Ariana stirred beside him. "Lloyd?"

Lloyd drew in a shaky breath. "My promise," he whispered. "I... I remember it now."

Ariana shifted upward until Lloyd could just see her deep blue eyes in the gloom. "Phil told us about that," she murmured. "We didn't think you'd remember."

Lloyd shook his head. "I-I remember now," he said. "I remember everything. I remember meeting you." He grabbed her hand and glanced sideways at her. "You really hated me, didn't you?"