Ninjago - Heart of Stone

Chapter Twenty One: Lies

Sensei Dareth was not a particularly bold man, nor did he possess any sort of extraordinary strength, dexterity, or intelligence. In fact, he was not as strong, durable or intelligent as most men his age, or younger. He was overweight, lazy, and pretended to be far braver than he was.

It was for this reason that, when the stone warriors arrived, and his dojo was overtaken, he did not stand and fight, but his in the dumpster out back until it was all over. He now was crouched behind the dumpster, cowering in fear as the sounds of breaking glass and driving rain and roaring wind surrounded him. He was soaking wet and shivering, and he reeked of garbage, but he was still alive, and he remained yet unseen.

He'd caught only a glimpse of the thing that had come for Ninjago, but that glimpse had been enough. This great, hulking black thing had led the stone men in, and it was now perched atop a tower, looking down over the city and breathing out great streams of black smoke that rained down on the people and changed them into his mindless slaves.

As he was making his way to the tower, something had fallen from atop his head. He'd seemed to be growing, swelling like a bloated balloon as he moved, and it had knocked the helmet from his head. Dareth had seen it roll across the street and come to rest at the entrance to the alley, unseen and not at all missed. He'd waited for a clear moment, then darted out and snatched it up. Now, as he crouched behind a dumpster, Dareth at least had something to defend himself with.

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"If you can get me up there, I think I can stop him."

Lexi didn't really mean to say it aloud, but she was thinking it, and she knew it had to be done. One way or another, she had to end this, and she couldn't very well do it from all the way down here. Overlord was standing on the tower, looking down on Ninjago like a king. Lexi was the only one with the power to strip away his power and throw him from his throne.

"How exactly are you gonna do that?" Kai, of course, was the sceptical one. Lexi ignored him, because it didn't matter what she said; he'd argue anyways because he cared too much to let her risk her life.

"Lexi, you can't." Misako was practical but also kind. She looked so sad, and Lexi hated herself. She ignored Misako, too, because it hurt too much to think about how much love Misako held for her monster of a daughter.

"It's dangerous, Lex." Lloyd tried to be reasonable. He used her nickname, he looked at her pleadingly, but he also wanted to be teasing, brotherly. He failed. He sounded like a father who'd been worn out by fear and anxiety and who was now desperate to stop their child from making a terrible choice, even though they knew it wouldn't change anything. His tone wasn't contradicting, but warning. He knew she was going to try, no matter what he said.

"Lexi, what do you know that we don't?" That. That was a question she couldn't ignore. Lexi turned to Zane, a ghost of a coy grin fluttering on her face. He didn't suspect anything— none of them did, she realized with a simultaneous rush of relief and regret— but he knew something was amiss. Zane knew she was keeping something a secret, but he of course assumed the best— Lexi knew of a weakness, or a complication, and she was going to take advantage of it. Of course she hadn't made a deal with Overlord, why would she do such a thing? Of course she wasn't going to kill someone, heroes didn't kill.

"I... when Overlord captured me... I found something." She'd worked out bits and pieces of a lie, knowing what would make sense and what they would just take on faith for lack of a better understanding. "He... he had one weakness. A special kind of knife that can cut through darkness," she said, hoping to the Dragon that Wu or anyone else wouldn't see through her bullshit story. "I found it, in his camp. My fa— Garmadon had it, and I stole it."