Darkness from Within #4: Fading (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 15

Over the next few weeks, life in the monastery slowly returned back to normal—except for Kai and Cole. Kai still hadn't opened his eyes, and Cole was still grieving heavily. Then there was Pixal, who had recently left the monastery for a time. Ever since the ninja had received word that Cyrus Borg had gotten sick, the robot had left to tend to her father, leaving the monastery in the careful care of Nya. The ninja wasn't as experienced as Pixal, but she knew the basics, and that was all they really needed.

Garmadon was walking down the hall when he saw Cole coming from the other way, head low. The sensei frowned and stopped the black ninja.

"Tell me what happened, Cole," he coaxed. "I want to help you."

Cole turned his head away. "I don't need your help." His voice trembled.

Garmadon laid his hand on the ninja's shoulder. "Then maybe you can help me."

Cole looked up at him in surprise. Garmadon nodded, and Cole's eyes twinkled.

* * *

"I'm in!" Cole gasped, looking around.

"That's great!" Garmadon called back. "Remember, they can't really see you, so don't hold back!"

Cole took a deep breath and stepped onto the streets of Baddie Bend. He had connected to Lloyd and somehow managed to break free from the green ninja's mind. This power just keeps on growing!

"What exactly am I looking for?" Cole asked.

Garmadon's voice rang in his head. "Any useful bit of information," he said.

Cole gazed around as he walked, peering through windows and squinting to see in the shadows. As he neared the edge of town, he noticed how many people he'd already seen. The Baddies are bigger than we thought, he realized. With a grunt, he heaved himself up onto a roof and scanned his surroundings. Okay, Lloyd, come out, come out wherever you are!

A door creaked open.

Cole turned around to see a large building toward the end of the street, its door half-opened. Tipping his head, he slid down the roof and headed towards it, gazing around warily. When he reached it, he looked over his shoulder one last time before slipping inside.

He halted in alarm to find himself out in the forest. How did I... He took a step forward and gasped to see the grass underneath his foot fade into old wood. He breathed a sigh of relief. It's only some illusion, he realized.

Grunt.

Cole looked up again and found someone swinging around the trees, dodging missiles and slicing robots. His eyes widened. Lloyd!

Cole watched with shock as Lloyd darted about the training course swiftly and strongly, not stopping for a second. He seemed to know whenever something was behind him and whenever something would shoot at him. Is this the same Lloyd from the monastery?

Footsteps sounded near him, and Cole turned to see Ariana walk up beside him. The black ninja inched away from her, hoping he was truly invisible.

"Hey, Lloyd!" she called.

Lloyd's gaze snapped to her, and in the second's distraction, a sword cut his arm from behind. Lloyd let out a gasp as he tumbled off the tree branch he was standing on and crashed to the ground.

Cole's eyes widened in horror. "Lloyd!" he gasped.

He was about to rush toward the green ninja when Ariana suddenly burst into laughter. Cole stared at her. What is she thinking? he thought. Lloyd just got seriously injured!