QUICK AUTHORS NOTE:
-This story contains MAJOR spoilers for Ninjago Dragons Rising Part 1, TURN BACK NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED
-This story is more or less a dream Lloyd has some time in between Dragons rising
-This story may get a little much for sensitive/ younger readers, keep that in mind.
-This story is short on purpose, as it does only have a single chapter
-Hope you enjoy! Sit back, relax, and let's get into the story!
-----------------
"So, You're the new master of wind, huh?" "Heh- That's what it looks like! ...I guess..."
"I knew the last one, I already like you more!"
Lloyd thought about that interaction with Euphrasia as he climbed into his bed. "A new master of wind..." He thought to himself. He knew that elements were passed down either through the generations or by choosing one's successor, but he didn't know someone could just "get" an element. He was confused about how THAT worked, but he pushed the thought out of his mind. Ever since the merge happened, everything has been upside down.
Lloyd closed his eyes, letting his thoughts drown out as he fell into a deep sleep.
When Lloyd opened his eyes, he found himself on top of the destiny's bounty. It was a sunny day, with barely any clouds in the blue sky. Lloyd looked around, there wasn't anyone or anything else besides him and a figure on the other side of the ship. Was that Euphrasia? He walked over to her, at first quickly but then his pace slowed as he got closer.
"Euphrasia?"
The new elemental master of wind did not answer but only stood, humming to herself to what Lloyd could figure. He was confused.
He placed a hand on her shoulder to turn her around, but when he turned her to face him- it wasn't Euphrasia who faced him. Instead, a different, male, and sinister face greeted him. Lloyd gasped in alarm when he saw the true face.
"MORRO-"
The figure cackled loudly, holding out his hand, he sent out a wave of wind that gripped Lloyd. The hooded figure's hood came down revealing that signature black hair of Morro. "You can't get rid of me, Lloyd! No matter how hard you try!" The figure yelled, slamming Lloyd into various parts of the ship. Lloyd noticed the sky growing an eerie grey and green, as if there was a thunderstorm.
The wind continued to prevent Lloyd from moving. He tried to scream or say anything, but nothing came out when he tried. Morro laughed when he noticed. "Cat got your tongue?" He mocked. The wind then let Lloyd go, and he fell hard on the deck of the ship. Morro marched slowly to his victim, dragging a sword behind him as he walked. When he was standing only but an inch from the green ninja, he stopped.
Lloyd expected Morro to bring the sword down on him.
"You know that's not how this works..." Morro spoke with a cold and bitter tone. The scene then changed, and the two were now in a black void. "No-" Lloyd whispered, still lying down on the ground.
He looked around, each of his friends being attacked or otherwise being injured. Kai was being held in an upright "y" position by chains, looking bruised and beaten. Zane was ripped limb from limb, a pile of circuits and wires strung among the floor. Cole was crushed by a hoard of rocks, only having one of his hands exposed to tell that it was him. Nya was trapped in a glass box and looked like she had drowned as it was filled with water, with her lifeless body floating within the container. Jay was sitting against a wall, hundreds of fresh slices covering his body from head to toe. There were also other friends and allies he had who were in the background, all sharing similar fates to the others. All of their faces were whited out. "NO!" Lloyd screamed. "You know by now, I plan to take out your pathetic friends one by one- YOU WILL HAVE NO ONE LEFT! NO ONE TO HELP YOU! YOU WILL BE ALL ALONE!" Morro screamed.
"Arin-You haven't gotten to him.." Lloyd whispered, looking around at the group to see if he missed him. "Are you sure about that?" Morro asked. Lloyd blinked. And now, he was standing in Morro's place. He was holding the same sword. And to Lloyd's horror, it was piercing flesh. Sora's to be exact. She was stabbed- No- HE had stabbed her. "NOOOOOO!" Lloyd looked to the spot he was just in, seeing Arin's eyes staring back at him. "You will hurt them all-" A voice within the dark void told Lloyd. "You won't be good enough." It continued to mock. "You'll end up getting them both killed-one way or another." Lloyd saw Sora's eyes closed, and she fell off of the blade and collapsed to the ground. her lifeless body laying on the ground in a pool of blood. Arin rushed to her. "MONSTER!" he yelled. "Wh-" Lloyd then looked down at himself. He saw that he had transformed into his Oni form. He stepped back in surprise. Looking back at Arin, he saw Arin had a look of rage and sorrow in his eyes. He clenched Sora as hard as he could, crying.
"monster—-Monster- MONSTER!" a choir of voices invaded Lloyd's mind. All saying that word at the same time. "No, No, NO! I'M I'M NOT- I'M NOT A MONSTER! NO!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lloyd screamed. Jolting up from his bed. He was covered in a cold sweat. His lungs scrambled for air, he took in long hard gasps of clenched one of his hands to his racing heart, trying to slow it down.
It had happened again-
The door to Lloyd's room swung open and hit the adjacent wall with a "THUD"
Lloyd looked in alarm. "Lloyd! Are you okay?!" "Why were you screaming?" Sora and Arin both rushed into the room, each looking concerned, even with the limited amount of light from the hallway. Lloyd groaned. He didn't mean to wake them up. "Sorry- I- Uh—- It wasn't— I—" he paused, looking at the two teens who both wore faces of curiosity. "I had a nightmare," Lloyd told them. "Oh-" Sora sounded disappointed. "Well, as long as you're ok." Arin piped, trying to sound optimistic. "Yeah- I'm alright..." Lloyd rubbed his eyes. They felt sore, and maybe even- wet? He had been crying- God that was embarrassing. He hoped the two didn't notice.
"Sorry to scare you both, just- head back to bed. I'm going to get a glass of water." Lloyd wiped his face and his tears away the best he could, then passed by the two pupils as he made his way to the kitchen area. Neither Sora, nor Arin said a word as he passed. The two exchanged a glance before Sora nudged Arin. "C'mon, let's go back to bed." Arin nodded and the two walked back to their rooms.
Lloyd walked into the kitchen and made himself his water. He drank it fast, wanting to forget that horrible nightmare. "Let me guess..." Lloyd turned to see Kai was standing not too far away. "That nightmare returned?" Lloyd nodded slowly. "Yeah- it was similar to the others but also different..." "Aren't they all slightly different?" Kai was right, Lloyd had that dream many times before. It started happening a day or two after Morro was defeated. They would show up every 2 weeks or so for 3 months, then after that they were more frequent, appearing once a week. Then a month after that, they appeared every 4 days. They would always be similar. A hooded figure of some kind, the setting either a boat or a building, or a battlefield or someplace Lloyd had been before. Always, there was a clear, then stormy sky. Then that black void would engulf the setting in full, Lloyd always saw the ninja either being tortured or killed in some way. Some days were less violent, some were more. But the ways that the ninja would die would change sporadically. They had stopped a few years ago, around the time of Harumi's death... As she had been in a few of those dreams as either being killed or committing acts of torture. Once she even helped Morro in ridiculing Lloyd himself. He thought those stupid dreams would stop, as they did for such a long time. Why would they pop up again now? Lloyd figured that maybe just seeing the wind element again brought up some negative thoughts up in himself. He should've realized that perhaps they could come back.
Lloyd sighed. "Yeah- they're all different, but this one included not only a version of Euphrasia but also Sora and Arin too. They were all in my dream." Kai walked over to Lloyd and placed a hand on his shoulder. "In my dream, I stabbed Sora- in the chest–What if she-" "Lloyd- You'd NEVER do that- I don't know why I even have to say that." "I know I know, It's stupid- It's crazy- Like, I know I would never- But- what If I-" Kai then placed one of his fingers on Lloyd's temple. The two stood in silence for a few seconds. "That's just your fear that's talking. We've discussed this. You're not under Morro or anyone else's control. If you do get mind controlled or brainwashed we'll deal with it- but stop imagining fake scenarios when they don't exist. We'll deal with things when we need to deal with things, ok?" Lloyd sighed. "Okay..." "Good. Now get your glass of water, boogers, and go to sleep." Kai smiled. He walked out of the kitchen and back to his own room. Lloyd smiled and rolled his eyes.
Lloyd went back to his room and drank more water. Slipping into his bed, he was glad he had such good friends. That nagging thought though- What if he did lose control and hurt...maybe even- Kill his... NO- Lloyd refused himself to think of any more negative intrusive thoughts. He wanted to sleep. He pushed them deep down and tried to forget about them. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.