I'm back with a new and improved version of Murphy's Law. Head's up folks, this is going to be a darker one (go figure). I'll be including warnings before each chapter. This chapter wasn't suppose end up this bad, oops. Things start going downhill pretty fast.

This chapter includes minor character death.

Chapter One: Lights Out

The ocean was absolutely serene at this time of day. White-crested waves danced below and shades of blue water stretched as far as the eye could see. The wind blew salty mist up into the air, nipping at their ears, and keeping the summer sun's heat at bay. Everyone was excited to be out working without the threat of world ruin lingering over their heads. It was lining up to be a calm, pleasant day. One of the few lately and the ninja were going to take advantage of it - massive fish or not.

Lloyd laughed as Kai rocketed past. He called, "Careful!"

The only response he got was a whoop. Kai's dragon tilted its head to look at Lloyd. It may have been his imagination, but the fire dragon appeared exasperated with its rider. Lloyd laughed as the dragon chuffed and shook its head. It lifted its gaze back front and Kai leaned forward over its neck. When Kai glanced back, Lloyd could tell he was up to something. Distance did nothing to dissipate the mischievous energy that radiated from him.

"Wanna race?"

"Once we catch the fangfish," Lloyd said.

Kai stuck his tongue out. "Chicken!"

"Nah," Lloyd shrugged, "just don't want to have you being a sore loser for the rest of the mission."

"Those are fighting words, kid!"

Kai nudged his dragon closer and kicked out at Lloyd. It was half-hearted at best, considering it wasn't even close to connecting and Kai had a stupid grin plastered on his face. Lloyd stuck his tongue out at him before urging his dragon forward. His dragon's muscles coiled beneath him before lunging forward. There were four shouts behind him and Lloyd waved over his shoulder as the outcries went from surprised to excited. He'd thrown the gauntlet.

"Better catch up!"

Cole's laughter echoed from behind as Jay shouted, "You sneaky brat! That's cheating!"

For a few minutes, the only thing Lloyd heard was the wing beats of the dragons. Kai was right on his tail with Cole close behind. Jay kept getting distracted coming up with terrible one-liners for when they found the fish. Once Zane's dragon flew past and Jay was nailed in the shoulder with a icy snowball, he was right back in. Lloyd whooped, carefree and childish. The dragons chuffed as they caught onto their riders' excitement. Doesn't matter what you are, a competition can get the adrenaline pumping.

"Watch it," Kai snapped as Cole dove in front of him. "I'd rather not end up in the ocean, thanks."

Cole pull his reins up so that there was more space between the two. "Scared of the water, are we?"

"No! I just have a healthy respect for whatever is in the water."

Jay yelped, "Fish!"

"Yeah." Kai said as everyone else turned to give Jay confused looks. "Like fish."

"No, I mean fish! Right there!" Jay pointed out a dark silhouette in the water below. It was keeping up with dragons easily. Lloyd squinted at it. He jerked his reins up when the fish launched itself out of the water and snapped its jaws at them. That was a monster of a fish.

Everyone's dragons climbed a little higher to keep out of the fangfish's reach. "Pixal says this is the one," Zane called. He let out a shout when his dragon shifted left to avoid the fish's lunge.

"It's massive," Jay said before waving a hand at Kai, "I bet Kai's caught one bigger."

"Yeah, of - woah!" The fangfish jumped up and snapped its jaw shut just inches away from the dragon's leg. Kai let out a nervous laugh as his dragon snarled at the fish.

Lloyd twisted around to wave at the others. "Boat's almost here. Get in formation!" He didn't need to turn back around to check if they were following directions.

The fish was snapping at their heels by the time they had lined up with the boat. Cole let out a yelp when the massive creature took another leap at his dragon. He pulled up in time for the fish to land smack in the center of the fishing boat. The boat rocked with the sudden weight and nearly sent the poor fisherman on the deck right off the side.

Jay began to laugh and managed to choke out, "That's what I call hook, line, and stinker!"

Zane and Cole both burst into laughter while Kai shot the other ninja a glare. "Shut up, Jay. That was awful."

"Jay's been banned from making jokes," Lloyd called.

Cole bent over his dragon and wheezed. Zane smiled, but kept an eye on Cole in case he laughed himself off his dragon. "I believe that would be the third time this week that Jay's been banned."

With Jay grumbling, the ninja swooped down to land on the deck. Lloyd jumped off his dragon in time to watch Zane stumble on his landing and collide with the fangfish. The creature let out an oddly threatening whistle. Zane scrambled back as the others laughed.

"Try not to end up as fish food, ice boy," Kai said.

Cole jabbed him in the side. "That's no way to talk to a highly sophisticated nindroid!"

"You're both hilarious," Zane monotoned.

As his brothers continued to poke and tease each other, Lloyd picked his way towards the fisherman. He stepped over a few crates and loops of rope before making it to the stairs. They were slippery, Lloyd figured after losing his footing and throwing out a hand to keep himself from slamming into the wood. The fisherman came over to help him back up.

"Thanks," Lloyd grinned.

"I think I should be thanking you guys. The giant fish in my boat was unexpected, but oh well."

"Sorry if we nearly tipped your boat."

The fisherman laughed. "This old girl can take more than a mutant fish breaching onto her deck to topple her."

Lloyd ducked his head. "Still…"

"It's fine, kid. Go celebrate and I'll get us back to the docks." The fisherman clapped Lloyd on the shoulder before nudging him back towards the others.

They all kept an eye on the fangfish on the home back to land, but the fish seemed content to laze where it had landed. Lloyd, Kai, and Cole spent the trip sitting against the cabin with their backs against the weathered wood. Zane had since disappeared around the other side of the fish, claiming he wanted to get a better look. Jay was leaning on the railing. Lloyd pretended he hadn't noticed the first few bout of seasickness. It always seemed to take Jay a little while to get used to the boat's movements.

"How much longer?" Jay moaned as the boat rolled with another large wave.

"Not long," Cole said.

Kai nudged Lloyd, who only yawned. Kai elbowed him a little harder and whispered, "Lloyd. Lloyd."

"What?" Lloyd smacked him. "Why are you whispering?"

"Don't you think it'd need to be in the water to breath?"

Lloyd shrugged. "I don't know. It's a mutant - is that why you're whispering?"

Cole leaned in to add, "Maybe it can hear us right now. Maybe it can read our thoughts."

The fangfish chose that moment to tilt its head enough to stare at the three of them. Lloyd stiffened and Kai choked. The three eyed each other for a minute before the fish rolled its massive head back towards the water. Both ninja turned to glare at Cole when he chuckled. "You two are too easy."

Soon enough, Kai and Cole were fighting over who was the most gullible out of their team. Lloyd only paid enough attention to deflect any questions they might ask him. Zane wandered back over once he was done with whatever it was and Jay escaped his place by the railing. Not that it did much for him, considering out of the forty minutes it took to get back to the village, Jay spent three-fourths of it sick.

Lloyd was glad to spend some time relaxing with his team. After everything with Chen and losing his father, Lloyd had disappeared to mourn. He knew that they were only giving him space to settle out, but he'd wouldn't have minded some company. The ninja came and found him, eventually. It took a little longer for him to find Misako and even longer to come to terms that she wasn't going to grieve for her own husband. Cole had said that people dealt with grief differently and so Lloyd took it to heart.

Having this time, without any lingering doubts or family caused problems, was nice. There was no looming invasion or prophesied end times. His siblings were happy. Everyone was were they belonged and that's all Lloyd could ask for.

The village docks were crowded with people. They were all excited to see the fangfish brought to justice - or the aquarium, Lloyd figured. It wasn't like they could lock up a fish. Although the aquarium was basically a fish prison.

Jay zapped him as they unboarded. "What's the face for? Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Lloyd said with a glare. Jay held up with hands with a smile.

Zane walked past and laid a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "You know that we are always open to listening to your fears."

"I know. Thanks, Zane."

Jay and Zane considered him for a moment before a splash got their attention. A crane was attempting to lift the fangfish into a large tank. It didn't look like it was having much luck. They hurried off to help. Kai stepped up into their place. He threw an arm around Lloyd's shoulders.

"You did some good work."

Lloyd laughed and threw his arm off. "We did some good work. It was a team effort."

"Nah," Kai shrugged, "we do good only because we've got a good leader." Kai laughed when Lloyd rolled his eyes. "I mean it!"

Kai grabbed his shoulders and gave Lloyd a shake. "Look around, kid. People were cheering for us when we got back. This place is safe now. We may have done this, but you're our backbone." His expression softened as he added, "Your father would be proud of you, Lloyd."

"I miss him," Lloyd admitted, "I don't really know where I'm going with him here."

Kai's grip tightened and his smile turned frosty. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Losing my parents left me lost and I don't know where I would have ended up if it hadn't been for Nya. We supported each other."

Lloyd nodded. He didn't have any blood family that had stepped up to help him. Wu was distant and Misako was never around. Lloyd's father hadn't even been part of the first nine years of his life and he still went out of his way to be there for Lloyd. As if sensing his thoughts, Kai gave him another hard shake.

"Hey! Chin up, kid. I'll watch over you." Kai released Lloyd in order to ruffle his hair. "And not just me. You've got four other weirdo siblings to watch your back."

"I want the receipts."

"You're stuck with us, Lloyd. No take backs."

"Please don't let Cole actually move any mountains-"

"I turned into living fire to keep you safe. I don't think Cole playing with geography should be your first worry."

Lloyd laughed. His ridiculous, over-protective siblings that he'd just as willingly take a bullet for. What an mix match family they made. There was a splash behind them and then a sharp zap. Cole began to yell at Jay, who snapped right back. Even over their argument, Lloyd could hear Zane sigh.

"Kai, Lloyd, please come take a picture so we can go home."

"I'll let him know. Yes, thank you. Goodbye." Misako set down the phone with a sigh.

"Is it a customer?" Nya rocked forward on her heels, big smile in place.

"No," Misako shot a look at Wu before continuing, "it was the police. They need Lloyd down at the museum."

Wu frowned. "What happened? Was there anyone injured?"

"It sounded like a robbery. No one was hurt."

Lloyd perked up. Anything to get out of handing out flyers. "Alright, I'll go. Uh…" He stared at the papers in his hands before Cole snatched them.

"I'll do 'em."

Lloyd grinned. "Thanks, I owe you." He elbowed Kai in the side when Kai stepped over and seemed 'surprised' that he was in the way. His brother ruffled his hair. "Hey!"

"Be careful," Zane said.

Kai tried to get his hands in Lloyd's hair again, but Lloyd ducked out of the way. The two stuck their tongues out at each other. Lloyd heard Nya sigh.

Lloyd squared his shoulders and focused on summoning his dragon, letting his power flow from him. With a flash of green light, his dragon appeared curled up on the pavement outside the shop. The dragon lazily snuffed at his face before stretching out to allow his rider.

Before he could take off, Misako let out a pointed cough. "Forgetting something, Lloyd?"

"Nope."

"Lloyd Garmadon."

"Love you, Mom. Bye!"

"See ya, squirt!" Kai yelled as Cole shouldered past him to wave.

Misako yelled something after him, but Lloyd ignored him in favor of directing his dragon into the air. He waved at the others and flashed his uncle a little smile. Getting out of helping the tea shop was an amazing stroke of luck, but Wu would definitely have something for him to do once Lloyd got back. His mother was standing just outside of the doorway and had her arms crossed. Ah, another thing he'd have to deal with once he got back.

Steep Wisdom was on a lonely piece of property. It was about a twenty-five minute drive to Ninjago City, give or take five minutes with the traffic. Dragons made it in fifteen. Lloyd much preferred to travel with his dragon, but sometimes he'd snag a taxi when going into the city. He didn't want to rely on his dragon all the time - his father had considered that the most important lesson of all and Lloyd wasn't going to let him down.

It was a relief when the museum came into view. Fifteen minutes was still a long time for a kid itching for something exciting to do. Lloyd flew his dragon around the building to take a survey of the state of things. There were only two police cars out front. Misako hadn't made the call sound like anything too important. If he was lucky, he could sweep in and out in no time flat. Although, Lloyd had to wonder why the police would call for his help if it wasn't anything significant.

The moment his feet hit the pavement, his dragon disappeared with the sound of wingbeats. Lloyd hurried up the stairs. There hadn't been any broken windows, none of the side doors were ajar or covered in police tape, and the roof entrance had a sturdy chain secured with a padlock keeping it shut. Unless the intruder had come up from under the floor or could pass through walls, there was only one way in - the front doors.

Which meant Lloyd wasn't surprised to the massive doors open. There was a barrier of yellow and black tape, two officers with their heads together just past it. One of them looked up as Lloyd paused outside to inspect the doors.

"Well, lookie here. It's the Green Ninja." The officer elbowed his partner before raising his voice. "Good morning, Lloyd!"

Lloyd smiled back. He jumped the tape and walked over to greet them. "I got your call. There was a break-in?"

"That's right. It was after hours so the only person here was the watchman."

The younger officer huffed, "Hasn't been any help. He says he can't remember anything."

"He got a sure fright. It's only natural to be in a bit of a shock."

The rebuff only got the young officer to make a face at the floor. "Yeah, well, it'd be nice if he cooperated."

"Let me talk to him," Lloyd said. "Maybe I can get something."

"Sure, he's just over there." The officers pointed towards a little alcove off to the left. It was set far enough to kept out of the usually busy lobby, complete with a bench and a fern. An older man was seated on the bench with a blanket thrown over his shoulders and a cup of tea in his hands.

Lloyd nodded his thanks. His approach didn't seem to register with the man, not even when Lloyd was in his personal space. The night guard's gaze was fixed on a spot past Lloyd's right side. His cup rattled in his shaking hands and he breathed in great, rasping pants. The poor man certainly looked like he just had the scare of his life. Lloyd crouched down in front of him, elbows resting on his knees so he appeared calm and nonthreatening.

"Hello," Lloyd said with a little smile, "you were on duty last night?" The watchman only continued to stare past him. Lloyd frowned. It was possible the man was in some kind of shock. If that was the case, it would be best to get him to a hospital.

"Is there anything that you can tell me?" Lloyd tried with the same response. "Sir, I-I'm here to help you. Could you show me what was stolen?" Maybe he wasn't up to being verbal - Lloyd could understand that. Pointing out what was stolen might not be as daunting a task.

When the man jerked his head in a nod, Lloyd smiled. He stood up and went to step back to give the man some space. He was shocked when the watchman was on his feet faster than Lloyd would have thought possible, grabbing onto Lloyd's wrist, and dragging him out of the alcove. Lloyd stumbled before getting his balance.

"Hey-!" One of the officers yelled as the they disappeared down a hallway.

Lloyd shot a look back to offer a wave or gesture that everything was fine, but the officers were out of view too quickly. He gave an experimental tug to see if he could get out of the night guard's grip. It was firm and unyielding. Lloyd tried a different tactic, "Where are we going?"

Instead of answering, the night guard pulled up short at a door with a plaque reading storage one. He released Lloyd and flung the door open. "I was knocked out." Lloyd peered at him. It was great that the guard was talking, but his voice didn't seem right. Too young and...blank. It was emotionless. Another sign of trauma, maybe?

Yet, it felt like something wasn't quite right.

The guard gestured to the room. "I came to in here. They use this room as storage for stuff that they want to keep, but don't think it's interesting enough to show." He pointed at a golden statue of a snake. Lloyd was pretty sure it was supposed to be Skales. "Everything in here is old and worthless."

"So the intruder pulled you in here to keep you out of the way?"

"Maybe," the guard shrugged.

Lloyd crouched by some overturned boxes. "Was there anything in these?"

"Packing peanuts mostly. The only thing that was stolen was an ancient chest plate called 'The Armor of Azure'."

"What's that?" Lloyd asked as he dug through mounds of packing material. He felt canvas under his fingers so he grabbed it was and pulled it free. A large canvas bag covered in packing peanuts - nothing exciting.

There were some noises behind him as the guard moved around. Probably taking stock of everything else in the room. "Legend says its suppose to summon allies to your side. Anyone at all - friends, foes, spirits from one of the other realms."

"That sounds like it'd be worth some money," Lloyd said. He leaned back onto his heels. Okay, so the intruder was only after one thing. They'd had to have known that the museum kept it stored away. How? Then there was the question of how they even got into the museum. There were no signs of forced entry at the front doors. Lloyd rubbed his eyes.

"Eh, not really. It doesn't work." There was more movement behind Lloyd. There it was again - something wasn't right. But what? Lloyd turned to ask the night guard what he last remembered when he saw the man standing mere inches away. There was a hammer in his hands.

The guard brought it down and Lloyd scrambled out of the way. "Hey, woah!" It shattered the wooden boxes were Lloyd had been standing. The night guard groaned as he hefted it back up. Lloyd stepped back, hands up. "What's the deal?"

"The Armor hasn't worked for any of these idiots because they aren't powerful enough," the guard snapped. His tone was smug, nothing like before. "Only elemental masters can use it and only a special few at that." He took another swing at Lloyd, who dove under it. There was a crack as the hammer dented a cabinet. The movement jostled the blanket.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes as the blanket slipped from the guard's shoulders to reveal a blue and silver chestplate. "You stole it."

"Yeah." The guard smirked. "It wasn't that hard. Possess the guard, snatch the Armor, and then send a report off to the police."

"That was a mistake - wait." Lloyd ducked another swing, but froze as the guard's words sunk in. "Possess the guard?"

The guard laughed, dark eyes flashing green. "You're an observant one. It's a shame Wu decided to play favorites, we might have got along otherwise."

"You know my uncle?"

"That's right. I know lots of things about that foolish old man, too." The guard's voice grew shrill. "In fact, he's the reason I'm dead."

"No, I don't believe you." Lloyd snarled.

"You should." With that, the guard slumped back against the wall. He dropped the hammer in favor of grabbing his head. With a groan, he dropped to the floor. He looked up, eyes wild, and startled when he saw Lloyd.

"There was...there was someone in my head. What's going on?" The guard's voice was rough and deep. Lloyd ignored him, whipping his head around to try and catch sight of whatever had been controlling the guard.

Something brushed against Lloyd's arm. "Oh, poor Green Ninja. It must just kill you to think badly of Wu."

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd snapped as he jerked his arm away. "Who are you?"

A painting of Chen got his attention. The sky was moving, clouds rolling and slashed through with red lightning. Paint crackled as Chen's lips formed into a smile. "Why did he chose you, Lloyd? Anyone could have been a better choice, and yet, he picked you."

"He didn't pick me." Lloyd ripped the portrait from the wall. He saw the guard staring at him from the corner of his eye as he smashed the painting against the floor. The tear of canvas echoed. For a moment, that seemed to have gotten rid of the being. The victory was short-lived, however, as Lloyd noticed the black mist that rose from the pieces. It spun around him.

The mist lazily looped around Lloyd again. Lloyd clenched shut his eyes, imagining his power rushing through his arms to his fingers. Green light sparked against his eyelids. Lloyd opened his eyes and saw the mist shrink away. Finally feeling that he had the upper hand, Lloyd sent his power after the mist. The energy ripped through it, but the mist only tugged its scattered bits back together. The mist flashed past him and sunk into the Skales statue.

Lloyd gawked at it when the statue screwed up its snout. It turned its head towards him and bared its teeth. "It's impossible to hurt a ghost. You're utterly powerless against me." Its tail lashed out and wrapped around Lloyd, dragging him closer.

"Let me go!" Lloyd struggled, but to no avail.

The watchman flinched back when the statue swung around to face him. "I...I saw it. He wants to curse the world!"

Lloyd kicked at the statue's body to get its attention away from the guard. "You're a ghost from the Cursed Realm? It's impossible to escape, how-"

"Your father opened the door too wide," the statue said. "I wanted to thank him, but he got sucked in too quickly."

"Don't you dare-"

The statue shook Lloyd. "Don't start making threats you can't follow through." With a flick of its tail, Lloyd was sent flying into the wall. He landed against a shelf and took it down with him. The frame landed on his back, pinning him down. Lloyd groaned and the statue laughed. "How pathetic."

A whimper from the nightguard got the statue's attention. It turned towards the man and tilted its head as if thinking. It leaned forward and outstretched one hand with a creak. "The armor."

The guard shifted his wide-eyed gaze between the statue and Lloyd before shaking his head. "No. I...I can't do that."

"Sure you can," the statue replied. "Let me lay it out for you. Hand it over or I'll take it." It snapped its jaws shut for emphasis.

Lloyd had managed to get his arms free and began to shove boxes off of himself. The shelf's frame wasn't heavy, but thanks to all of the boxes and artifacts that had come down with it, Lloyd was outmatched. He nudged a cardboard box out of the way. It toppled over and spilt its contents over the floor. Something shattered.

"I don't have anything against you, only this pest." The statue cracked its tail against the ground, mere inches from Lloyd's head. "Give me the armor and live. Be stubborn and I'll kill you before take it anyway. It's up to you how much pain is involved."

With another desperate look at the trapped ninja, the watchman began to unstrap the chestpiece. The statue made a pleased hum. Lloyd knocked another box away. He leveraged himself up and jerked back. It was enough to free him up to his hips - more than enough room to reach out to the guard.

"Here!"

The guard didn't hesitate in yanking the armor off and tossing it to Lloyd. He fumbled to catch it, fingers still a little numb from being crushed under some heavy books, but he got it. He got it.

"You idiot!" The statue turned its empty eyes on Lloyd and snarled. "That was a mistake, Lloyd."

"You want the armor? You let him go, then we'll see."

It chuffed. "You think you're in a position to make demands?"

Lloyd tucked the chestpiece close. "The police are still waiting outside. They'll come if they hear me yelling." They still had some cards to play. He needed to get the nightguard out of the way.

His words didn't get the reaction he had been wanting. The statue did its best imitation of a smirk before lashing out with its tail to wrap around the nightguard. It hoisted him into the air. The man let out a choked noise as if the hold was too tight. "They'll hearing something before we're done. Besides, it's not like they'll be able to stop me anymore than you can. I'm not worried."

"Let him go!" Lloyd demanded.

"Actually, out of everyone in the room, I think you should be the most concerned, Lloyd. I have plans for you."

Lloyd kicked out in an attempt to free more of his body. "If you're here for me, then you don't need him. Let him go."

"You care about others' lives," the statue said as he gave the guard a shake. "Seems I do need him."

"No!"

The statue went stiff as the black mist drew itself out. It floated towards Lloyd. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt him." Despite the reassurances, Lloyd took no comfort from the ghost's words. At least it was away from the guard. The mist stopped in front of Lloyd's face. "You don't look convinced."

"Why should I trust you?" Lloyd spat. The mist didn't move away.

"I will not harm that man," the mist bobbed before Lloyd's eyes. "That said, someone else might."

Lloyd drew the armor closer and hissed. The mist flinched back at the noise. "What are you - an animal? What was that?" It hovered for a moment before creeping back towards the pinned ninja. "Doesn't matter. I'll know soon enough."

"What do-"

The rest of Lloyd's words were shoved down to make way for the mist. It forced itself down Lloyd's throat, leaving a burning wake. His hands came up to claw at his throat. Lloyd tried to scream, but all that came out was awful hacking. Everything was focused on the pain and the foreign presence settling itself through his body. Lloyd could make out someone yelling, but it sounded far away. It felt like something was pushing him out of his own head. Just thinking was hard. It hurt.

Stop!

"Interesting. You're considerably weaker than I imagined the almighty Green Ninja would be. Oh, there's something that isn't quite human in you. Maybe that makes up for it."

Get out!

"Now, where did that hammer go?"

Lloyd threw himself at the force keeping him back, but it held firm. He could still see and hear and feel, but he couldn't control his body. The ghost had tossed him out of the way and took control, then left the television on so that Lloyd would get lonely. Lloyd pounded against the barrier and screamed.

There was a flash of irritation that didn't belong to him. "Be quiet."

After that first feeling, a sudden barrage of emotion slammed into Lloyd. Everything was intense and raw, tinged with a bitterness. Lloyd's own fear mixed with what had to be the ghost's feelings to create a horrid mural of hate and anguish. It was overwhelming.

Fighting against it felt like escaping tar. The emotions clung to him and refused to let go. Lloyd raised his head over the mess in time to catch the ghost's thoughts. It was still looking for the hammer.

"Stop it. It's rude to peek." The ghost snapped at him before dragging its thoughts away. "It would be best if you kept from nosing around."

It would be best? Lloyd wanted to strangle the ghost. His anger rose up, bright red against the dull green of the ghost's emotions. Get out of my head!

"Not going to happen. I already told you, I need you, Lloyd. Unfortunately."

Lloyd kicked at the barrier again and felt grim satisfaction when the ghost's thoughts stuttered. "Just because I need you, doesn't mean I can't hurt you."

And risk hurting your fancy new body?

"You care too much," the ghost replied. It took Lloyd a moment to realize it had spoken aloud, with his mouth. One of his hands clenched around the handle of the hammer. Lloyd flinched when the ghost raised his head to stare into the eyes of the terrified nightguard. "I don't need to hurt this body in order to hurt you, Lloyd."

No! Don't touch him!

Lloyd felt his shoulders lift in a shrug. "I'm not the one at fault here. Who wasn't strong enough to resist my control? You could have prevented all of this."

Stop!

He tilted his head as the ghost considered the guard. "It's a shame you didn't give me the armor when you had a chance." It tapped the metal keeping the guard trapped with the hammer. Soft rings echoed through the room while the ghost watched the poor man squirm. Lloyd slammed all his weight against the barrier, but was ignored.

"You don't have to do this. I-I won't say anything, promise." The guard jerked his head back when Lloyd's body leaned closer. The ghost hummed in thought before rocking back on its heels.

"Ah, well, as terrible as it sounds, I wasn't going to let you live regardless," the ghost said with a chuckle. "I can't have witnesses running to Lloyd's friends before I'm ready to be introduced. Besides," the ghost leaned in, "imagine the reaction when everyone finds out that the Green Ninja killed some poor nightguard."

No! Lloyd screamed as the ghost lifted the hammer. Please! I'll do anything!

The ghost paused. "Anything?"

Yes, anything - just let him go, please.

"A tempting offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass," the ghost replied as he brought the hammer down.

Lloyd threw his hands over his ears - as if it would help stop the screams from echoing in his thoughts. He wanted to vomit. He hated that he could feel the coarse wood of the hammer's handle in his hands, that he could feel something warm and sticky splatter his skin, that he could hear the ghost continue talking as if he was on a stroll instead of hurting - killing - murdering someone. It was messy and loud and-

With a lurch forward, Lloyd threw up his arms - he could move? - to hold himself up as he emptied the contents of his stomach. There were two different flashes of surprise before Lloyd could feel the ghost clawing at his mind, tearing control away. Lloyd's legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees. Despite the foreign anger batting at him, he could tear his attention away from the scene in front of him.

He did this.

His hands were covered in blood and there were dark splotches on his uniform. The edges of his sleeves looked like they had been dipped into the pool spreading towards him. First Master, he was going to be sick again.

The ghost tugged at something and Lloyd found himself back in the dark, watching through eyes that weren't really his anymore. The ghost looked down at its hands and huffed. "Looks like we'll be needing a change of clothes. Think those officers noticed? He was awfully loud."

Lloyd desperately hoped they hadn't. They should stay far away from this monster - from him.

"Mission accomplished," the ghost said. It bent over to pick up the Armor of Azure and wiped at a blood spot with its thumb. "It's not that noticeable, is it?"

Go to hell.