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“Master Wu should be here! This is the monastery! Why isn’t he here.” Lloyd said turning the the man with the white braid and bamboo hat. Lloyd still doesn’t know who this man is. Ever since he met him here.
“I have not brought you to your master. But to the memory of where the evil has taken over your father. An evil that only Oni’s can possess. A wretched darkness.” The man said. Lloyd turned and looked as a younger version of his uncle and father unfold. They were fighting with the Weapons of Spinjitsu. Lloyd watched them intently he didn’t miss the sinister red eyes from his father. As the four weapons interacted it had created a huge a huge blast that blinded him. The sky became dark as the floor ripped apart.
“Goodbye brother.”
“Garmadon! Do not do this.” A light came from Wu and went straight to the sky creating a lightning that struck Garmadon. His skin became pitch black as he fell into the underworld swearing revenge.
"You share the blood of my son, you share Oni blood." The man said. "Who you will become of this, even I do not know the answer, but fate has plans for you." The man said “Great plans, or evil.”
"What! But I can't possibly have an Oni side! I’m human, I’ve been human!” Lloyd argued back.
"Do you seriously believe that Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon?"
"What—" Lloyd got cut off by a loud thundering sound as the sky glitched to a grim purple. A sickening darkness replaced the clear blue waters and the once shining sun. The memory blurred in a instant. Gravity seemed to have weakened as rocks and other objects became to float.
"Only time will tell."
The old man's voice chanted in his ears. Lloyd looked around his environment, panicked, as the darkness spread around him. He turned behind him at the pond that was now made of pure darkness. The darkness gathered and manifested itself into a body, a body with long sharp horns, a body with four arms, a body that Lloyd scared, terrified, of.
It was him.
He was the darkness.
The dark figure opened its eyes, it was bright purple. Lloyd looked at himself— the darkness in horror.
"What's the matter, Garmadon?" The Darkness asked innocently. Lloyd tried to collect himself and remain calm. "Not one for talking, are we?“
"Who are you? No— What are you?" Lloyd asked.
“I’m you, Lloyd.” The darkness said. “Always have, always will be.”
“No! No your not me!”
"Sure I am. In fact, I'm your best friend! I know more about you that you'll like to admit." The Darkness smiled. The Darkness took another step, it felt as if it created a huge shockwave. "To yourself, or to others."
"No, no! You're just the curse of the scroll, trying to get all up inside my head!" Lloyd shouted as he gets his sword from his back.
"Not the first time anyone has done that to us, isn't it? I can name a few that manipulated and gained our trust only to betrayed us; school bullies, Pythor, Kai, Harumi, our father—"
"Stop! Stop speaking!" Lloyd shouted as he covered his ears. The Darkness laughed at him. It echoed in his ears.
"You know, no matter how much we try to believe it. We will never be a true human, the blood inside us is enough proof." The Darkness said. "I wanna hear it, out loud. What are we?"
Lloyd scoffed at him to seem less scared. "What type of question is that?! I'm Lloyd Garmadon, student of Master Wu and the powers of the destined Green Ninja."
The Darkness suddenly flashed in front of Lloyd
"Oh! So you mean these powers?" The Darkness raised a fist and punched Lloyd in the stomach and made him lose his ground. Lloyd founded stable ground and swung his sword at the Darkness. He managed to slice an arm off, and the darkness let out a loud roar. Purple light erupted from his hands and shot at Lloyd, sending him flying to a nearby rock. Lloyd grunted in pain as his back hit against the wall. "How could you let yourself grow so weak? You are helpless without me!"
"I don't need you!" Lloyd shouted as he channeled his energy into a orb and blasted it at The Darkness. Lloyd gasped in shock, The Darkness took his power and absorbed it. It was able to grow his arm back.
"Can't you see how powerful I am, how powerful we'll be if you just accept me?!"
"I just want to be me! To be Lloyd, to fight for what is right! From monsters like you!" Lloyd took his sword again and swung it at the Darkness again, only for it to stop him right in his tracks.
"Fighting for what we believe is right. That only leads to one thing."
To pain.
The voice of the Overlord is still so fresh in his mind. He shook the thought away and tried to get out of the grasp of The Darkness. The Darkness took his arm and threw him outside of the platform and into a floating rock. Lloyd quickly made a shield of energy to minimize damage. He sighed in relief that he was unharmed, but it didn't last long as he saw The Darkness come straight towards him. He quickly jumped to another rock to avoid impact. The darkness obliterated the rock he was once on.
"We help people! I mean— I help people! It's what ninja do!" The Darkest blasted another beam of purple rays at him. Lloyd reflected it with his sword. The Darkness flashed behind him and punched him back to the original platform which had the monastery. Lloyd shields himself before impact.
"Last time I checked, all of this happened because of us." The Darkness jumped down in the platform, created a small shockwave. "We said it ourselves. We released The Serpentine from the underground, We were to weak to stop the Great Devourer from taking over Ninjago, and we gave the Sons of Garmadon the means to take control of the city! We are just like our father, a trickster, destructive, evil! Why would our legacy be any different?" The Darkness launched at him. Lloyd took his sword to defend himself from The Darkness. It grabbed on his sword.
"I'm nothing like him!"
"But you wanted to be him! Don't you remember?"
"That was a childish dream."
Lloyd shouted, he saw a purple flash appear on his body, but he quickly shook it off as he didn't want to get crushed.
"Your biggest dream became your worst nightmare!" The ground beneath Lloyd's feet broke. He now kept flickering purple, he could feel himself have Oni features on his body. "In fact, we'll be worst than Garmadon. The pain and destruction that we'll bring upon the world will make Lord Garamadon's past look like nothing! The old man said it himself right?"
"No! No I'm not—"
"Not what? An Oni destined to bring destruction into the world? Come on! Use your words, Garmadon!”
"Stop!" The sky started to break into purple cracks. It spread to all parts of the realm. Reaching the Ninja.
“Was that Lloyd..?” Kai said looking as the sky appeared to have purple cracks.
“It is! Omigosh we found Llyod! Lets grab him and get out of this scroll!” Jay shouted as the sky cracked more scaring him.
"That's what I wanted to see! You cannot escape me. Embrace it." Lloyd fell to his knees with a gasp. He started to flicker between human and oni uncontrollably. He covered his ears and closed his eyes shut in protest. "Embrace the Oni inside you!"
"Lloyd!"
Lloyd's eyes shot up. He quickly looked around to see the sky cracking and breaking. But he couldn't see as the Darkness behind him was blinding him. He couldn't see. He could only hear the laughs that tormented him and echoed through his head. Though the laughs suddenly stopped. He opened his eyes to see Master Wu in front of him.
"Uncle Wu—" Lloyd got cut off by the flickering within him.
"Lloyd, forgive me for making you wait." Master Wu said as he helped him off the ground.
"I don't know what's happening to me." Lloyd whispered, desperately.
"I'm afraid I do not have an answer right now, Lloyd. I'm sorry." Wu turned to see The inky-like substance reform itself. "But we must focus on the now, first."
The inky substance reformed itself into The Darkness, significantly bigger than before. It was bigger than the size of the mountain. Its arms reached out and slammed on the ground. Lloyd felt himself flicker again so he fell to his knees.
"Sensei Wu! This wouldn't be possible without you!" The Darkness smiled.
"Yeah and us too!"
Lloyd looked up to see that the sky was yet again cracking again. The sky broke and revealed the rest of the ninja. "Guys!" Lloyd shouted in joy.
"Without us you wouldn't be able to stop this thing, that's what you were saying right?" Kai said all smug as he spun his golden sword in his hand. He turned to see Lloyd on the ground and he suddenly filled with concern.
"Not quite but—" Master Wu said before getting interrupted by Jay.
"H-hey! Is it me or this curse is way scarier than it was before!" Jay said as he was trembling in his shoes.
"How did Aspheera say to defeat this thing again?" Zane said as his mostly monotone voice became slightly panicked.
"Aspheera?" Wu questioned quietly.
"You ninja! Always ruining everything!" The Darkness shouted in anger. "Say goodbye!" The Darkness yelled as the fog surrounded them.
"What no! Lloyd!" Kai shouted, reaching his arm out to him but they were separated by the fog.
"Such pitiful creatures." The Darkness said as it started to change its shape. "Cowards, reckless, disgraceful, arrogant monstrosities." The Darkness surrounded itself around the ninja, its voice filled the air. "All doomed to play a part in tearing this world apart. To cause nothing but chaos and destruction."
"Enough!" Wu shouted. "Our destinies is not always tied to a scroll! It took me a while to realize that every prophecy is not written down but it is for you and only to decide what your fate is. We live with the choices we made. But what truly matters are the choices we make right now. Only we are able to decide what we are!"
"Nice hero speech, but I know better." The Darkness voiced, Wu gasped in shock. "Deep in your hearts, you don't believe a word of that. Destiny will find you." The Darkness said. Wu felt a phantom golden touch go past his shoulder, reassuring him, it was the feeling of his old friends. The old group of brave ninja. Wu turned behind him where he saw his students, resembling his old acquaintances. He saw fire within them, that they will not stand down.
"Yeah well! Ninja never quits! And we won't quit to a loser like you!" Kai said, as the golden sword shined bright at his words. Kai has the sword in his hand ready to strike.
"I might be a coward but we face scarier bad guys— and bad girls— than you before!" Jay shouted, his golden nunchucks glowing brightly too.
"You better get ready for a reckless pounding, cuz it's gonna hurt!" Cole shouted pointing at The Darkness as he swung his scythe around as it glowed.
"We will not let a curse take control of our actions!" Zane shouted his shuriken glowed as well.
"I won't let some curse push around me or any of my students again!" Wu shouted. The floor turned golden as all the weapons shined. A burst of golden light was created and weakened the darkness, making it return to its normal size. The curse shouted in pain as its power was being restricted. It fell to its knees and looked around and saw Lloyd still flickering from human to oni.
"You see it, don't you? This is your fate! Your friends will turn on you, see you for the monster you will become. They will destroy you. Lord of Destruction." Lloyd stood up in alarm at that title. "It's just like the Overlord said, all you'll ever do is cause pain and suffering—“
"Stop talking! Get out of my head!" Lloyd launched up in the air, creating a crater. He shined a bright purple and his oni features were clear. The darkness crawled back in shock, not expecting the display of raw power. Lloyd came right at the curse a fist in his hand. Time felt like it slowed for the both of them.
"Then prove us wrong."
A bright light. Then an explosion.