Ninjago - Heart of Stone

Chapter Twenty Two: What Must Be Done

The dagger was heavier than Lexi remembered it being. It felt like a stone, dragging her down, though she ran up to meet Overlord. She was almost unaware of the chaos reigning around her; she knew only that she would make it through. She was behind the others now; they'd ran ahead when she'd gone back for Kai, either failing to notice or assuming she would take care of things. She didn't want to see the looks on their faces when they realized she hadn't.

Kai was behind her, stumbling up the steps after her. He wouldn't catch her, and even if he did she'd be able to fight him off. Lexi's always known, in the deep recesses of her heart, that she was more powerful than any of the ninja. She could end Kai's life with a flick of her wrist, send him flying off the tower and onto the ground far, far below.

She kept running. She only had to kill one person, and it wasn't him.

"Lexi!" She looked up in surprise to see Zane standing before her. He was standing with Cole and Lloyd, turned around, his back to the few remaining stone warriors as they apparently shielded him from something. Lexi heard the sounds of screeching metal and screaming, and her heart twisted as she thought of Jay battling Nya. "Where's Kai?"

"Back there," Lexi said breathlessly, running up the last remaining steps to reach them. "Go, he's like Nya. We need to get up there—"

"No! No, get off!" Jay's sudden scream snapped all their heads around, and the stone warriors parted like the Red Sea to allow the ninja through. The sight that awaited them was horrifying— Jay was on his back, his head dangling upside-down off the edge of the stairs, Nya lying atop his body, pinning his wrists down and keeping him still. Before anyone could react, there came a sudden roaring sound, like a mighty gust of wind, and a stream of darkness landed on the pair.

"Jay!" Cole screamed, as Lexi covered her mouth with one hand and Lloyd cringed violently. The cloud of blackness cleared, and Nya was hunched over, coughing, while Jay trembled like a leaf, lurching and wheezing. He lifted his head, craning his neck to see his friends standing there, petrified. He jerked his head in the direction of the top of the tower, pushing himself out from underneath Nya.

"Go," he rasped, as his head fell back and he started writhing. Grabbing Cole and Lloyd by the wrists, Lexi ran, knowing Zane would be wise enough to follow. They barely made it three feet before a second blast was falling, and Lexi dove to avoid it, bringing Lloyd and Cole down with her. She turned her head as she went down, her eyes widening when she saw that Zane had failed to dive.

"No!" She tried to get to her feet, but she slipped, bashing her knee against the edge of the steps. She pushed herself up clumsily, Lloyd grabbing her by the shoulder as her wounded knee seized. Zane was doubled over, hissing softly and shaking. His metal skin was creeping with grey, and his eyes were slowly going red.

"We have to move," Lloyd cried, as Jay and Nya disentangled themselves and began advancing. The stone army was now only three warriors, and they seemed frozen. Lexi wondered if the helmet was switching ownership, or if they were being killed by their master from within, rather than from the outside.

"We're so close," Cole panted as they ran, pursued how by four puppets who were formerly their friends. "Just a few more steps... a few more..."

"DIVE!" Lloyd screamed, throwing himself to the ground. Lexi and Cole both looked up stupidly, seeing a jet of darkness heading straight for them. Lexi might have moved, but in that moment, she wondered what the point was. She wondered why she was even bothering to fight, because when she made it to the top she might not even have the strength to do what must be done.

Suddenly, something huge and heavy crashed into her, and Lexi was throwing against the side of the building, sliding down the rain-slicked wall and landing painfully on her tailbone. She ignored the pain in favour was gawking at the one who had saved her, and who was currently covered in darkness.