Ninjago - Heart of Stone

Chapter Eight: Last Day's Right

That evening was a somber one. It seemed that the ninja all knew what fate could await them across the ocean, on the Island of Darkness. No one was complaining; they all knew the price of being a hero.

It just seemed unfair that they might have to pay it.

"Let's review," Lloyd said, because he was nervous, and he always rambled when he was nervous, "when we get to the island--"

"We know the plan," Kai said irritably, because he, too, was nervous, but he preferred to stew in silence. Lexi shot him a glare across the table.

"It wouldn't hurt to hear the plan one more time," Misako said, trying to smooth things over. Lloyd shot her a grateful look and began.

"We sail across the ocean," he said, "using me and Lexi and Wu's Oni blood, because it will draw us to the Overlord, and therefore to the island. When we arrive, we keep a low profile, we set up a small camp, we scout out the area, we figure out where the Overlord is, and we find a way to kill him."

"Not kill him," Wu interjected, "we can't kill him. Ancient evils made entirely of dark power have a tendency to be immortal."

"Okay, so we don't need to find a way to kill him," Lloyd said, his voice raising slightly in pitch, "we just need to find a way to keep him from ever leaving the island." He bit his lip. "But all he needs to do to get off is to harness enough power and have enough force to break the barrier, and his army and our father's power might be enough." He glanced up at Wu worriedly. "Sensei, do you think maybe we should go now?"

"If Garmadon and the army are truly enough to free the Overlord, we could have left this morning and still not arrive in time to stop them," Wu said reassuringly. "Don't worry, Lloyd. We'll be alright."

"We'd better be," Kai grumbled, "I'm too young to die. I don't even have a girlfriend yet!"

"And that will never change," Lexi muttered. Across the table from her, Nya choked on her drink.

"Guys, let's keep the fighting to a minimum, shall we?" Misako said, but Kai was already preparing himself with a strong retort. "Right, as oppose to you, miss still-technically-eleven." He smirked. "You'll always be years behind us all mentally."

"Even when I was eleven, I was still smarter than you," Lexi said coolly. Kai stared at her for a minute, looking furious, then burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay, I yield," he laughed, "you win."

Lexi smiled slightly. "Thanks," she said, straightening in her seat. She noticed Cole smiling at her from across the table, but the second their eyes met he looked away quickly. It felt like precious drops of water slipping between her fingers in the desert.

The rest of the meal passed by without incident, though it was significantly less sullen. Afterwards, however, no one seemed to know what to do with themselves, so they all simply sat around in the gaming room, staring at each other in awkward silence, waiting for someone to broach a topic of conversation.

"I ate dog food when I was a kid once," Jay blurted, causing everyone to turn to stare at him. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was too quiet," he said sheepishly.

"Okay then," Nya said, shifting away from him slightly on the couch. They lapsed into silence once again, until it was once again broken, this time by Kai.

"You know," he said carefully, "since this might result in someone's death, we should make this night something special."

"How do you mean?" Asked Misako, tilting her head to the side. Kai shrugged, his cheeks going slightly pink.