Flames of the Past #5: Lost Souls (Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

"You have a brother?" Lloyd exclaimed in alarm.

Chelsea shrugged. "Of course," she replied. "We're twins."

Lloyd's mouth fell open. "Twins?" he echoed. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Chelsea's eyes twinkled as she met his gaze. "You never asked," she cooed.

Lloyd gazed back at her, struck silent for a moment. Then he scoffed and shook his head, smirking slightly.

"Wait, so the Overlord has two kids?" Cole butted in.

"Yes," Chelsea responded. "My brother took after my father. He was powerful. Or, at least, he would be now."

Kai stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"The way the Overlords gain power is through inheritance," Chelsea went on. "An Overlord is born with power, of course, but it's not complete. Once an Overlord passes away, his power passes onto his offspring. His complete power." She blinked at Lloyd. "So when you killed my father, his power entered my brother. He's the one controlling your marking."

"Well, if your brother's as friendly as you, there shouldn't be a problem talking to him about it, right?" Jay pointed out.

"Only he's not," Chelsea sighed. "When we were younger, he listened to my father too much. He admired him too much, and built up anger and bitterness about things he shouldn't have had to. Even my mother could tell he was going down the wrong path. He and I were still close, and he helped me escaped the Bend, but that was the last I saw of him." She paused a moment. "My mother made me swear to never let him get his hands on the Overlord Crystal. With it, he'd be too powerful."

"You told me the Overlord Crystal was destroyed with the Overlord," Lloyd stammered.

"That... was only a guess," Chelsea confessed sheepishly.

"You didn't know?" Lloyd exclaimed. "So I left it in the Bend for your crazy brother to just take!"

"You left it in the Bend?"

"What else would I do with it?"

"Guys!" Kai interrupted with a huff, turning to Chelsea. "If your brother has the Overlord Crystal, what does that mean?"

Chelsea blew out a final frustrated breath before calming down again. "Because he's half human, he needs help in gaining his full inheritance," she explained. "The Overlord Crystal is what accomplishes that."

"So basically, we're dealing with the Overlord 2.0?" Jay asked.

"Basically," Chelsea confirmed.

A chill swept down Lloyd's spine. He was grateful that the Overlord was gone, but wouldn't his son be just as bad? Or worse, he thought dreadfully.

"So the man in the mist is the Overlord's son," Nya breathed.

"Honestly, that makes a lot more sense," Cole added, "with how he was controlling Lloyd's marking and everything."

Zane frowned. "Then their leader can't be Clouse," he said. "He is too old to be Chelsea's twin brother."

"It's like what my dad said," Lloyd realized. "We caught 'his puppet.' Clouse works for the Sons of Darkness, but he's not in charge."

Chelsea folded her arms across her chest. "I've never heard of any Clouse," she admitted.

"But that doesn't make sense," Lloyd continued in a puff, looking down at his marking. "Every time Clouse entered the room, my marking acted up. That can't be a coincidence."

"My brother would've had a human form when he wasn't wielding the Overlord Crystal," Chelsea pointed out. "And since he's still adjusting to his power, he would have to be close to you to control your marking. Is there someone else who was always around?"