Just to make some stuff clear beforehand. In this fiction Harumi is still alive. She is in prison and not dead because of that stupid building. Just so no one gets confused. Because she might get a role in all of this.
Lloyd groaned, when he woke up. He brought a hand to his head and felt it. It felt warm and was pulsating like hell. He could barely remember what happened.
Sitting up, Lloyd realized that is wasn't his best idea. He felt dizzy and the world around him seemed blurry. He was in his room, his bed, but the whole image just didn't appear clear. He blinked a few times, making everything go clear again.
The green ninja stood up and walked into the bathroom. He didn't feel the need to go to the toilet, but he wanted to see what his chest looked like. Before he fell asleep, he could've sworn he saw his father. He was confused and unable to remember what had happened, but now he did.
Walking up to the mirror on the wall, Lloyd pulled his gi down. On his chest was a large mark, right above his heart, and he could've sworn it was spreading.
Looking closer, Lloyd saw something like a moon symbol engraved inside the mark. A purple moon surrounded by darkness. Or in this case: black.
Whatever it was, it could never be good. The oni had done this and he had no idea how to get rid of it. What they wanted was a leader, and by the looks of it, Lloyd was supposed to do that job.
However, he would never turn against his own friends and family. They had taken care of him when he didn't know what to do, or where to go.
Lloyd was ripped out of his thoughts when his stomach gave a growl. Yep, he was hungry. Well it had been a while since he ate something, and he didn't know what time it was.
Sighing, Lloyd walked into the kitchen, turning off the bathroom light on the way. It was silent in the monastery and the others where nowhere to be seen. Either he slept long enough for it to be nighttime or they were gone.
He shook his head. No way that they would go and leave him alone. Not now.
Opening the fridge, Lloyd looked around it. He was hungry, but nothing he saw seemed to satisfy his mind. But there was everything. Cheese, berries, yogurt and other stuff. But nothing he saw seemed good.
"Strange" he muttered. Normally he wasn't picky when it came to food, but this time he didn't like anything.
He closed the fridge again and looked at the counter. Apples were laying around along with bananas and oranges.
Lloyd forced himself to grab an apple and eat it. He couldn't remember a time he despised apples, but this time he did. His body reacted and he had no choice but to spit it out, almost throwing up. Leaning against the counter, the young man breathed heavily.
"What the heck is wrong?" he asked himself. Nothing made sense. Something more was happening. Looking down, Lloyd saw the mark and asked himself if that thing was giving some side effects.
No, he was just fine. He was just having a bad day. It was just the stress, nothing more. He wasn't changing and all was fine. Sensei would surely know, how to get rid of it and then the oni would've done everything for nothing.
He just needed more sleep. Sleep and nothing more. Sleep and- what was that.
Turning quickly, Lloyd sniffed the air. He felt silly but something was smelling delicious. His ears perked up as he heard a whimper. It sounded like a wounded animal. Or maybe something else.
Shaking his head, Lloyd tried to clear his thoughts. He was going insane. Hearing and smelling stuff that just wasn't there. Nothing was there. He clutched his hand over his ears, trying to block the sounds.
These instincts were new, but just not who he was. Again, he forced himself to go back into his room. If he just kept himself away from those noises, and the smell maybe he would forget it. His body was probably confused.
Lying down again, the ninja closed his eyes and tried to sleep once more, but this new experience lingered in his mind.
Not far away was a young woman standing up after falling in the darkness. Maybe taking a night walk wasn't the best idea, she thought. Now she had scraped her knee an it was bleeding. And she sounded like a wounded animal in the process.
The next morning, Lloyd was awoken by the sound of his door opening.
Garmadon walked in and looked at his son. He had been out for two days, or at least that was what he thought.
Lloyd opened his eyes and looked at his father. So, he hadn't imagined that. He really was back to being good again.
He couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Hey Dad" he sounded tired.
Garmadon sighed in relieve, seeing his son awake.
"It's good to see that you are finally awake son" he said.
Lloyd frowned at that. It wasn't like he was out for forever, or was he? He didn't know.
"How long was I out?" he asked, sitting but and winced. His body still hurt, but it felt better than before.
"Two days" his father answered. "How are you feeling?"
Lloyd shrugged. He didn't really know how to feel. His body ached and he was still hungry. But if he could eat this time was still a question, and if he was honest, he was scared to try it.
"My body hurts. To be honest, I was awake last night and tried to eat something" he confessed. What should he tell him? That the food he saw disgusted him?
"And how did it go?" Garmadon asked.
Lloyd cursed under his breath. Of course, he had to ask.
"It was …. Weird" he finally said. Lloyd stood up and walked part his father out of his room. He needed to move around some. He felt stiff.
"Strange? How?" Garmadon raised an eyebrow, walking after his son. He didn't like where this was going. Maybe he should talk with Wu about this.
Lloyd gulped. He was nervous. The mark was itching, as if trying to help him to decide. He felt like the mark didn't want him to say the truth. Well, if it didn't want him to say anything then he would do the opposite. But it was probably just his imagination.
"Let's get Mum and Uncle. I think you should all know" he decided.
Garmadon nodded. "Go to the meditation room. I'll get them."
So, Lloyd went straight into the meditation room, sitting down. Everything he looked at, looked different. He couldn't describe it, but there was something different about the things, in the room. Even in the hall things seemed different.
Shortly after, his father came back with his mother and uncle.
"Sweetie, you're awake" his mother hugged him, and something about her was different too. She smelled different. The whole family sat down.
"So Lloyd, tell us what happened last night" Wu asked. He was never a man to talk around things, but to always get to the point.
"I don't really know" he admitted "but when I woke up last night, I was hungry. I went to the kitchen, but everything I saw didn't seem to satisfy my mind. I tried to eat an apple, but I felt sick and was unable to eat it. A few seconds later I smelled and heard something. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious and sounded like something or someone got hurt" he explained.
Wu looked at his nephew with worry. Garmadon and Misako didn't look pleased either. Whatever happened last night, it was everything but good. Nervously, Lloyd shifted around, looking away from his family.
"This is not good. It is happening way faster, then we expected" Wu finally said.
"What is happening?" Lloyd asked.
"Gather the others. We need to test this, and if it is true, we need to act fast" Wu exclaimed, standing up and leaving the room.
"Wait, what's going on? What is wrong with me?" the green ninja was desperate to find out what was happening. What was going on with him.
"Come on son. It'll be fine" his father assured. Lloyd followed him silently. He was nervous, more than before.
Sitting at a table, all the ninja and his family had gathered. Lloyd sat at the tale while everyone else was standing.
"What exactly are we doing again?" Jay asked.
"No idea" Kai answered.
"After what Lloyd told us about last night, we need to test something. Maybe the oni was wrong and the venom is acting faster, then we expected" Misako meant.
Wu came back with a small glass, a red liquid inside it. He set it in front of Lloyd and took a few steps back. Lloyd looked at the glass and then back at his family.
Carefully, he took the glass in his hand and looked closer. He smelled it and was sure, it was the same thing he had smelled yesterday, just a little different. Taking a small sip, the young Garmadon tasted it. He was mesmerized by the taste and his stomach growled again.
In seconds Lloyd had downed the whole glass without thinking about it. It was satisfying to finally have something in the stomach. And he wasn't feeling what he had felt with the apple.
Setting the glass down again, Lloyd looked back at the others. He felt better already.
"it is as I feared" Wu said slowly. Lloyds mood fell. What was so bad? He felt better than before.
"What was that?" Cole asked.
"That, Cole, was blood" Garmadon answered.
Lloyds face fell. "What?!"
"Everything seems to be going faster, then we thought. The mark on your chest is supposed to make your oni side stronger, and it's working. Your instincts are already activating. You hear more, see different and have the desire for different food. The natural food source of an oni is blood. Whether from human or animal is not important" Wu explained.
Lloyd looked at them in shock and then at the glass. He just drank blood without a second thought. And he liked it. Then he glares at the glass.
"Who's was it?" he asked angrily. His uncle just gave him blood.
"From no one in this household" Garmadon said. He knew that was all Lloyd wanted to know. If he had just drunk blood from someone out of that room.
"But-but then, the smell yesterday…." Lloyd trailed off, afraid of saying it.
"It must have been someone or something that had been hurt and was bleeding" Misako said.
For a while it was silent. NO one knew what to say now or what to do.
"Well" Zane started "what do we do now?"
"We must find a way to stop this. It has been only two days and Lloyd is already developing new senses. That is what the warriors are waiting for. At this speed, it won't take long until his mind changes too" Wu announced.
"What if Lloyd were to regain his golden powers. Would they be able to overpower the oni?" Zane asked.
Wu stroked his beard, as he thought about it. "Yes, that could work. We will need some help though, and I know just the right person to help us" he said.
"Who would that be?" Nya asked.
"Morro"
Now some might be wondering what role Harumi will play and how Morro can help. Especially when he's dead. Well the nest chapter will tell you. Until then Please leave a comment.