Happy Friday! It took me a while to write this chapter. I honestly couldn't think of anything to write and then it turned in to this. So...I hope it actually makes sense.
Chapter Twenty: Broken Trust
Slightly ignoring the latter of the shadow's statement, Laurie turned her gaze upon Rhea. What did he mean, that "she must have been completely fooled"? Then her thoughts drifted back to the moment she had initially put on the necklace. Laurie had asked Rhea if she wanted to see it and the girl had immediately declined. The expression on her face had seemed to be a mixture of anxiety and sadness. "Did you actually give this necklace to me, Rhea?" the orange ninja now asked, her jaw set.
The young girl continued to find other places around the darkened room to stare and just nodded her head in reply. Laurie felt her breath leave her lungs for a brief second. Of course Kai would not give her an item that would harm her. She had been stupid to even think that. Kai's hurt face from the ball flooded Laurie's memory and she shifted uncomfortably. She should have stayed and listened to what he had to say instead of running out like she did. Her mother had always told her that was she was extremely stubborn, a trait that she had apparently inherited from her father. "I thought you'd changed," Laurie said sadly. "I understood why you were the way you were."
It felt as if someone had landed a hard punch to her stomach. Rhea took a few steps backwards, settling beside General Kozu once more. She inhaled sharply and felt an odd sensation rising up behind her eyes. Blinking quickly, the girl managed to hold back the tears. When was the last time she had cried? It had been after her parents were killed. Rhea raised her head, locking eyes with the orange ninja once more before averting her gaze over to Lloyd. He seemed just as upset as Laurie did, but there was something else there as well.
"She has changed though," the young boy argued, pulling against the stone general, though his grip did not yield. "Rhea saved me from Skalidor. Don't you remember that, Laurie?" He watched as his sister only nodded slightly in reply. "She didn't have to do that. She could have just left me there, but she didn't." Lloyd looked over at his friend and watched as her expression softened. "Besides when this guy took us," he narrowed his emerald green eyes at his captor who stood emotionless and stoic, "he broke in to the apartment. Rhea didn't let him in or anything. She has changed, Laurie. Maybe she didn't know what the necklace did."
Laurie contemplated this for a little while. Perhaps Lloyd was right. Her thoughts drifted back to the night on the roof, when they had both had their little chat. She recalled giving up; giving Rhea permission to kill her, but the young girl had not taken any action. No, she had instead convinced Laurie that her life was not worth cutting short until the time came. Maybe the necklace was a mistake. Maybe Rhea had accidentally left the necklace on her bed and forgotten about it. Laurie gave her brother a smile, feeling more confident about their current predicament.
"Blind faith and trust," the Overlord laughed, pacing back and forth. "It is a weakness that I have discovered plagues all of those who fight for the light." He watched as the red head narrowed her eyes. "It was no mistake that the necklace was given to you. Rhea knew exactly what she was doing." The young girl nodded in reply to this statement, inhaling deeply. "She is also the reason I was able to find your place of residence and your brother. I've left a mark on her, both a means of communication and tracking. It suited my needs quite nicely."
Rhea felt some of the color drain away from her face as she lightly brushed her thin fingers across the star-shaped scar on her face. Laurie took notice of this a gritted her teeth. Maybe some people just really could not change. "Fine," she spat harshly, feeling a wave of anger well up inside of her, "you were clever and managed to pull the wool over my eyes. You win, Rhea, congratulations." The orange ninja then turned her attention to the Overlord, his shadowy figure shaking in the low light. "You obviously put a lot of thought and effort into getting to this point: your little lackey, the necklace, and taking my brother. So why am I here? What do you want?"
The room grew silent as the Overlord approached, circling Laurie briefly before stopping a foot in front of her. Around her the air grew colder as her heart kept a steady rhythm much to her own surprise. "I've been around for quite a long time," the shadow started, his raspy voice sounding harsh as it broke the palpable silence. "Since Ninjago was created I have fought for control over it, but my quest for power was cut short by an old coward. His vision to live in a world of light was shattered because he in turn created me, an entity of darkness. I could not be destroyed so easily for there must always be a balance between good and evil, so he split the land in half, weakening me and sending me off to the middle of nowhere."
This was becoming tedious. "That's a great story," Laurie stated, sarcasm dripping in her voice. If her hands were not currently tied behind her back she would have given him a condescending bought of applause. "The balance of good and evil being maintained and all of that good stuff, yeah it's great. I could sit here and listen to you talk about it all day. Unfortunately, I don't understand what any of that has to do with me." She could feel the air becoming thick with tension as she finished talking, seemingly radiating from the Overlord.
"Resorting to the most pitiful defense mechanism of a mortal, are we? Sarcasm has no place in my world, girl." The shadow lunged forward, attempting to grab Laurie's shoulders. She closed her eyes and turned her head away; waiting to feel some sort of pain or discomfort, but it never came. Opening her eyes slowly, Laurie saw the Overlord's arm go right through her body and she gasped. It was almost like he was not even here. With a growl, he stepped back and the cold that engulfed Laurie subsided slightly. "This story is more relevant to you than you know. The old fool who tried to destroy me was your grandfather. I can feel it, the same life energy running through both your veins and your brother's."
Her grandfather? Laurie did not know too much about her grandfather. Her father had never liked to talk about him and all her mother ever told her was that he had been a master of Spinjitzu. If he truly was the "old fool" from the Overlord's story than he had created Ninjago. He had created the Overlord. Laurie knew enough about Ninjago folklore to know that the First Spinjitzu Master had created the land. Sudden realization dawned on her: she had the coolest grandfather in the entire world. "So our grandfather banished you from Ninjago?" Laurie asked, a smile creeping up on her freckled face. "He obviously had a good reason to do so. Now you're taking it out on his grandchildren? That seems more pitiful than using sarcasm as a 'defense mechanism'."
Seemingly ignoring this and collecting himself, the Overlord prepared to continue. This girl was getting on his last nerve. "It is prophecised that the green ninja will rise to face a great evil and defeat it." He could hear the boy behind him laugh slightly, but the Overlord attempted to ignore this. "However, that cannot be accomplished unless another prophecised individual sacrifices themselves prior." The orange ninja tensed up and the Overlord chuckled lightly. "I take it you've heard this before and I assume that you also know what I have been speculating: that you are the one that is destined to die."
"Laurie, what's he talking about?" Lloyd called out. He had never heard anything like that before. A sacrifice? He had already watched his uncle be consumed by the Great Devourer and witnessed someone else dear to him die at the hands of his father. What was going to happen now?
So the time had finally come, the moment that Laurie had been dreading for the past two days. "Lloyd, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a little while." She took in a deep breath, the words she was preparing to say catching in her throat as Lloyd's voice permeated her thoughts. Please promise me you'll never go away or leave me. The tears were now threatening to spill. "I'm supposed to die in order for you to succeed. You can't complete your destiny until I complete mine. A sacrifice has to be made."
The words now hung in the air as silence reclaimed the interior of the warehouse. With a deep, throaty chuckle, the Overlord paced back and forth, his gaze on Lloyd. "You did not know? That's a shame I suppose, discovering something of that magnitude soon before someone dies. Had you known sooner, then maybe you would have been able to properly treasure the last moments you had with your sister." Lloyd struggled once more against Kozu's strong grip and eventually gave up. "Now she must die tonight, in this room." The Overlord turned now to Rhea who clasped her hands behind her back awkwardly. "This should have been taken care of a month ago, but I guess I can't fault you. Thanks to your procrastination this has become much more of a show."
Rhea nodded quickly, pulling a karambit from her hair and gripping it tightly in her right hand. Yes, she should not have waited so long. If anything, she should have taken the opportunity to kill Laurie on the roof a few nights ago. As the young girl bowed to the Overlord she could hear Lloyd protesting in the background. "You don't have to do this, Rhea! You've changed, I know you have!" There was no time to listen to anything, no time to think about what she was about to do. Rhea just had to get it done with so she could leave Ninjago and forget about everything that had happened over the past couple of days.
Taking the first few steps across the warehouse was difficult. Rhea remembered just hours ago playing a video game with Lloyd, something she had never experienced in her life. There was Lloyd attempting to protect her from Kozu just as she had saved him from the snake. Laurie was laughing softly as the butterfly landed on the tip of Rhea's nose and she stared at it. Memories that Rhea wished she had never experienced were flooding her mind. She looked down, now standing directly in front of the orange ninja, her vision slightly blurred by unwanted tears. This had to be done though. It was her job and she had never left a job unfinished.
"If you kill me than you'll just be fulfilling the prophecy regardless," Laurie blurted out suddenly. She watched as Rhea loosened the grip on her weapon. "A sacrifice is a sacrifice in its own right. It doesn't matter if you kill me now or wait for my destiny to properly occur. My prophecy will be fulfilled and then Lloyd will win the battle against the Dark Lord."
Rhea took a glance back at her "father", seeking an answer. Laurie sounded like she knew what she was talking about. What if all of this was for nothing after all? "Ignore her," she heard him shout angrily. "A sacrifice is for a noble cause. I see no fight or battle happening around us at this point in time." The young girl raised an eyebrow, confused about what he meant. "Don't let her words fool you, child. I've been around for a long time and I know what a sacrifice is. This would not be a sacrifice. No, this would be murder."
The word sounded so dirty and sent a chill down Rhea's spine. She had never thought about what she did for a living as murder. Assassination had always sounded better in her own head, more important and precocious. Now Rhea was starting to realize that they were the exact same thing. She turned back towards Laurie who looked helpless now, slowly lowering her head and hiding behind a curtain of red hair. Well at least Rhea would not have to look at her face when she finished her job. Duty came before friendship. She gripped the single karambit with both hands, shaking slightly as she raised it above her head.
"Water!" Lloyd shouted, holding his bound hands out in front of him. In this state he could not entirely control the stream of liquid, but he managed to knock his captor backwards and catch Rhea's attention. She spun around quickly, her mouth opened slightly in shock. Free now from the stone man's grip, the green ninja charged forward. He used his right shoulder as a weapon as he barreled into Rhea, the two sprawling out on to the ground. The karambit skittered across the concrete floor and Lloyd quickly got to his feet, trying to find it in the darkness. His left foot hit something and the green ninja immediately picked it up awkwardly with both hands. He did not have much time.
Rhea groaned as she got on to her knees, watching Lloyd run towards his sister in the darkness. He was absolutely insane! "Don't just stand there, Rhea, catch him!" the Overlord shouted, rage obvious in his voice. She could feel her scar burning slightly on her skin. Removing the other weapon from her hair, Rhea charged after Lloyd, watching as he ducked behind the pillar that Laurie was tied to.
"What was that?" Laurie breathed, hearing Lloyd kneel behind her. An odd tugging sensation on the rope binding her wrists started. He must have been using Rhea's weapon to try and free her. Her brother was growing up quickly, becoming extremely resourceful and great fighter. Both of her arms fell to her side and without a second's hesitation, Laurie ripped the necklace from around her neck. The chain was painful against her skin until it snapped under the pressure, falling to the floor. Lloyd came around the front, helping his sister to her feet and the two stood side by side. "Thanks," the orange ninja whispered, watching as Rhea ran closer. "Seriously though, what was that?"
"Um…I was saving you," Lloyd stated plainly, tossing the small, curved weapon to Laurie who fumbled to get a good grip on it before using the sharp edge to free her brother from his own bonds. Rhea approached Lloyd, throwing a punch that he ducked under and Laurie held her hands out, feeling a gust of wind rush past her. The young girl was thrown a few feet away, landing in a slight crouch. So that necklace really had been limiting Laurie's powers. Rhea stood up, squeezing the handle of her remaining weapon.
This was far from over.
Alrighty then. To be continued next week. Thank you for reading! :D