Chapter 23- A stroke of temptation

"You're okay?" Kai looked down at Lloyd, whose skin was far too pale for him to be 'okay'.

Nevertheless, the Golden Master faked a smile, forcing his body into a sitting position. The world spun violently for a few seconds, before settling down again. The pain in his shoulder had returned, greater now than ever, but he tried to keep his composure. "Of course I'm okay. So you guys got the staff?"

"It seems your left shoulder has been dislocated. I would not define that as you being 'okay'." Zane stated, stepping closer towards the young man.

Lloyd chuckled nervously, quickly standing, cradling his left arm close to his chest. "No, no it's fine. Nothing time won't heal. I just...need to rest a little."

"We can't let you walk around like that," Cole stepped closer this time, causing Lloyd to be trapped between the robot and the merchant. "Let me pop your arm right back into place. The longer you keep it that way, the worse it'll be for you."

"I'm fine guys. Just a little rest is all I need. Believe me. I've-I've dealt with worst." Lloyd took another step back, determined to keep away from the Zane and Cole. His arm could heal itself, thank you very much.

"Rest?" Jay laughed. "Ha! No, no rest for us. We only have one tribe left! Then we can get Nya! We've gotta get moving!"

"Hate to admit it," Kai raised an eyebrow at the hyperactive puppeteer. "But, motormouth is right."

Cole turned away from Lloyd and directed his attention towards his other two friends. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on just one second," he started, crossing his arms over his chest. "We can't just head straight into more Serpentine territory. You were poisoned, Kai. You should probably take at least a little time to rest. Not to mention that Lloyd was almost squeezed to death and his arm is dislocated..."

"I'm fine," Kai and Lloyd stated simultaneously, though the blacksmith's harsh tone contrasted against Lloyd's exasperated one. "We got this staff and we only have the Hypnobrai left. The last staff, Cole," Kai continued, almost pleading. "Nya is almost within our grasp. The faster we take the Hypnobrai's power, the faster we'll get my sister to safety." Every second that was ticking by now, Kai thought of Pythor doing something terrible to Nya. Torturing her in ways that he could not even bring himself to imagine. He knew his sister was tough, but how long could she stick it out?

A sudden bout of awkward silence filled the air and Kai spun around to see Jay holding the Constrictai staff high in one hand and waving to the crowd with the other. All of the people seemed to have mixed emotions at the moment, but some of them humored the puppeteer and waved back. "It's like we're famous," Jay grinned, feeling Kai's gaze boring a hole through his back. He turned around and set the bottom of the staff firmly against the ground. "Like...we'll have our faces plastered all around Ninjago. People would recognize us and want autographs!"

The merchant just felt his face fall. "We probably already have stuff like that, Jay," he said. "They're called 'wanted posters'."

"So, you said we were getting out of here, right?" Lloyd chimed in, glancing back to see Zane eyeing his shoulder. Swallowing hard, the Golden Master started to walk forward, away from the center of the town and past the Constrictai that had almost killed him. The creature narrowed its eyes in a way that made Lloyd's blood run cold for a split second, but did not move an inch. At least the snakes were honorable when it came to actually listening to the person that held their staff. "Then, let's get a move on."

They walked out of the city, eyes following them everywhere they went. Jay enjoyed the attention, as he continued to wave endlessly at those around him. Cole shook his head, a bit amused by the puppeteer's childlike attitude, but knowing they had to focus on the task at hand. From the corner of his eye, he watched Lloyd, hoping to catch the young Golden Master off guard. Lloyd was attentive though. His eyes shifted from Zane to Cole rapidly, as he held his arm even closer to his body. There was no way he wasn't in pain, but he seemed to be far too stubborn to admit it.

As they reached the end of the city, Lloyd stopped walking. Right, he thought, feeling light headed. We climbed up here. We climbed up here. He turned back to face the others, trying to his best to look normal. "Actually, guys, how about we rest for the night? Cole is right, Kai, if you've been poisoned you definitely need some rest. I was pretty close to death too. A good night's sleep is what we need really. How about we stay in town? Just tonight?"

"I don't think so," Kai crossed his arms. "We're getting my sister. You let Pythor have her, now you've got to suck it up. We're gonna keep going, and we're going to get my sister."

"Yeah!" Jay agreed, finally strapping the staff to his back as the audience around him had died out. "We're moving!"

"The more well rested we are, the better chance we have of fighting." Lloyd replied then signaled out into the emptiness with his right hand. "I can't even see the Hypnobrai temple from her. It will take forever, even in the Jaymobile. I, uh, I won't do it. I want to rest. I'm the Golden Master and you guys have to-"

Pop.

Lloyd froze, his eyes wide, his body shuddering as a sudden wave of pain overtook him. As soon as the young man had let go of his left arm, Cole had seized the opportunity. Now they all stood in silence. Cole waited expectantly, not knowing what Lloyd would do. Zane watched all of this with a hint of amusement, a small smirk forming upon his thin lips. Kai and Jay had to blink a couple of times, their minds taking a few seconds to register what they had seen.

Lloyd stood, frozen still.

"Ha!" Jay's laughter broke the silence. "Oh, oh, he got you good!"

The sound of Jay's laughter slowly drifted into the background as silence surrounded Lloyd. He was still processing what had happened, but his instincts were beginning to kick in, adrenaline quelling the pain of having his shoulder relocated. The Golden Master turned towards Cole and narrowed his emerald eyes, feeling a sudden surge of unexplainable energy coursing through his body. There was an aura, a faint light that emanated from his now clenched fists, and, without even thinking, the young boy thrust his hands forward.

Cole was swept off his feet in an instant, hitting the ground hard and clenching his teeth together. "Lloyd...what did you...?" His voice trailed off as he propped himself up with his elbows. He was not exactly hurt per say, just taken by surprise. "What was that?"

All the sounds around them had stopped and Lloyd looked down at his own hands with a startled expression. "I...I'm not sure," he answered honestly, turning to see his other friends just staring at him. The Golden Master was not sure if he could describe them as being in awe of what had happened, or scared. "I didn't mean to do it, Cole. I'm sorry..."

"I'm...alright," Cole stood, still a bit startled. The power faded away from Lloyd's fingertips. It had to be the golden power. The merchant brushed his hair back, slowly regaining the breath that had been forced out of him. "That's gotta be the golden power. I guess you really are the Golden Master. Not that I didn't believe it before, but..."

"That was so cool," Jay stated, staring intently at Lloyd's hands. The glow was all gone now, but the puppeteer continued to stare. "I wonder what else you can do!"

Kai looked at Lloyd, the crazed, angry look now replaced by one of fear and confusion. There was no doubt about it though: something had flashed through the Golden Master's eyes. It had been only for a brief second, but it had been there. The blacksmith began to climb down the side of the mountain, deciding to keep a close eye on the boy from now on. "There's no time to see what other things he can do. We have to get Nya remember?"

"Indeed," Zane nodded, following Kai. "If we continue at this pace, perhaps we will successfully reach Pythor's kingdom before they feed the Great Devourer. I fear Pythor might attempt to use Nya as a live snack in order to break our spirits."

"What!?" Jay shouted, quickly following the others. "No way! He wouldn't. We need to hurry!"

With one last look at Lloyd, Cole followed the others. Lloyd stood there for a couple of seconds, staring at his hands intently. The power that had emerged from his body had been terrifying, and he knew that wasn't all there was to it. He could feel it, stirring inside him. What he'd done to Cole had been nothing.

You could do so much more, the tempting voice whispered within Lloyd's mind You could have ripped the little merchant man in half with your power, and he would have been unable to stop it. You don't need to listen to them, Lloyd. You can do as you please. They can't stop you.

Lloyd shook his head. They're friends. They care about me.

Is it really friendship binding you together? Or is it simply a sense of duty to Ninjago?

Lloyd frowned. Was it...was it really friendship? Was there any way he could be sure?

"Hey short stuff!" Kai's voice shouted. "You coming or what?"

He turned his extremely divided attention on Kai and just gave a nod, noticing as the blacksmith raised his notched eyebrow in slight suspicion as he once more disappeared from sight, descending down the mountain they had climbed. Lloyd took a deep breath and pushed his darker thoughts away. Of course they were his friends. They had come to save him when he was at the mercy of the Constrictai. They had forgiven him after he had let Pythor take Nya. That was the type of stuff that friends did, right? "Right?" the young man asked himself quietly, now staring at the others as they carefully made their way downwards. Lloyd turned around and grabbed the rock with slightly shaking hands, hoping that his shoulder could handle this all.

"That was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen ever," Jay chirped excitedly, still stuck on what Lloyd had done. "I mean, we'll have no problem getting Nya back from Pythor. Not with this kid! He could probably just stare at Pythor hard enough and he'd explode!" His own statement amused him enough to make him chuckle. "Could you imagine that? Pythor just exploding. Oh man...I would hate to be the one to clean that up..."

"The probability of something like that occurring is less than a thousandth of a percent," the android answered from further down below.

Lloyd could hear their conversation drifting upwards and he gave a small smile. Yeah, these guys were definitely his friends. What had he been thinking? Friends always joked around like this. At least, it was what he always imagined friends doing. Not like he had had any personal experience with it during his enslavement, but he was almost willing to bet his life on the fact that this was just...right.

Almost, the voice came again, trying to tempt Lloyd back into dark thoughts.

He ignored this though, keeping his focus on the task at hand. Hanging off the side of the cliff was the wrong place to get too distracted.

They reached the bottom, and Jay packed the staff on the Jaymobile where the others were. He then climbed onto the vehicle himself, starting up the machine and waiting for the others. "C'mon! We're on a schedule here! I have to get my-uh...Nya back."

Kai shot a dangerous look at Jay, but otherwise he let it slide. The blacksmith slipped into the Jaymobile, followed by the others. As usual, Lloyd was forced to squeeze in, being the last one inside.

"Are we ready then?" Jay smiled, feeling more confident than ever. "Let's go!"