The Son of Garmadon

Chapter Three

Lloyd looked at me as I relaxed my body on the bed, trying to find the words to tell him my story.
I didn't really want to talk about it, but something about Lloyd made me want to open up to him. Something about him made me want to trust him and maybe have him protect me.
God knows I couldn't protect myself.
I let out a deep breath and picked at my fingernail.
Lloyd removed his hand from my knee and waited patiently, his eyes focused on me.
I trust you, Lloyd. Don't take advantage of that.
"I don't remember how old I was when the Millers took me in," I said, "but I think I was a baby."
I closed my eyes as the memories came flooding in. I have never told anyone my story before, so telling Lloyd, even though I trusted him, unsettled me.
Mixed emotions hit me like a fist and I felt tears start to swell in my eyes.
Don't. Just keep it together.
Lloyd said nothing, but he nodded his head slightly, telling me to continue.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"When I was four," I said, " I broke a vase. I didn't mean to, but I was playing in the house with an old tennis ball I found outside. Alice, my foster mom, got upset and pulled me into her bedroom and lit a cigarette."
Lloyd never took his eyes off me. He continued to listen, but I could feel his anger starting to build.
"She grabbed my arm and put the cigarette out on me," I finished.
I looked at my right arm, remembering exactly where the faint burn mark was. Lloud looked at it, then me.
"May I?" He asked.
Sudden panic washed over me. I had never shown anyone my scars before and I didn't know if I wanted to start now.
He's already seen them. What's the harm?I asked myself.
I let out a shaky breath and nodded, letting Lloyd gently wrap his fingers around my arm and slowly pull the sleeve up.
It was then that I realized I wasn't wearing my purple hoodie anymore. Instead I wore a green long sleeve shirt with darker green detail. It didn't fit me very well with the sleeves falling just past my fingertips.
Lloyd must have lent it to me.
I watched Lloyd run his thumb over my scars. He touched a deeper one on my forearm and sighed. His breath felt hot against my skin and I shuddered.
He looked further up my arm and found the small cigarette burn. His jaw clenched when he looked at and he let out a calming breath.
It was at that moment I realized I had never seen Lloyd so upset.
A part of me felt guilty, upsetting the Chosen One. He had the whole world on his shoulders, and here I was, angering him with things that meant nothing.
But Jason, they do matter, I told myself. You matter.
You don't, another voice said. It sounded deeper and echoed throughout my skull.
I closed my eyes, trying to fight His voice inside my head. He was inside me, calling to me, beckoning me to just give in to His ways.
And I wanted to. I wanted to just let His anger take over me and ruin me.
But a small part of me, the good in me I suppose, wouldn't let me.
A small part of me still fought every day for me. A small part of me saw the good and saw how broken I was.
A small part of me saw my suffering and wanted to protect me from it.
I shook my head, letting the darker thoughts scatter into the corners of my mind.
I looked back at Lloyd, letting myself slip back into my reality. He still had his eyes on my arm. He had removed his thumb from my scars, but he kept his gaze on them.
"I had screamed and she told me that's what I get for misbehaving." I said, pulling my arm away. I let the sleeve fall back over my fingertips and I looked down at my lap.
A sadness washed over me and I closed my eyes, trying to fight the lingering voices in my head. They wanted me. And part of me wanted them, too.
Part of me wanted that darkness. Part of me wanted that rage flooding in my veins. Part of me wanted to feel that bitterness and breathe it in like it was oxygen.
Most of me wanted to become what I feared I would be if I really did give in.
I heard Lloyd sign. I saw him run his fingers through his hair, keeping his eyes closed. I could feel the anger illuminating off him. Small sparks of Golden Power flickered from his fingertips.
Lloyd shook his hand slightly and the sparks disappeared as quickly as they came.
Golden Power, I thought. I had never seen it up close before. What was it like, having that running through your veins? What was it like being the strongest Ninja?
"Was that when it all started?" Lloyd asked, knocking me out of wandering thoughts. He opened his eyes, fixing them on me. He didn't move, staying completely still. I saw his chest slowly rise and fall under his green gi.
I said nothing, and in my silence the Green Ninja had gotten his answer.
He stood, saying nothing. I watched as he walked toward the dresser, cursing under his breath. I wanted to say something, anything to make him not as upset with me as he was right now.
He isn't upset with you, Jason. He feels sorry for you.
Lloyd cursed again, leaning against the dresser. He said nothing, but I could see the wheels behind his eyes turn.
Just stop talking! You're making him mad! I scolded myself.
"What else?" Lloyd asked, looking at me. He had a stern look in his eyes. His lips were turned down into a frown.
I just stared at him.
"Golden Ninja, I-,"
"Lloyd," he corrected. He didn't take his eyes off me and I began to feel uneasy.
"Lloyd," I began, knowing I had crossed a line I couldn't recover from. "I don't really want to continue talking about this."
Lloyd pushed himself away from the dresser, eyes staring at me.
My god, your eyes sure are green, I thought as he drilled me with a stare.
I felt uneasy as he continued to stare. My mind drew a blank as the memories suddenly disappeared.
I'm sorry, Lloyd. I truly am. I didn't mean to upset you, I wanted to say. I wanted to beg him to forgive me, to tell me it was going to be okay.
But he didn't. He just looked at me, arms crossed, gaze stern.
I broke away from his gaze, uncomfortable.
"Do they still do it?" Lloyd asked. His voice sounded steady, but I could hear it starting to sway.
I said nothing. I didn't want to say anything anymore. I just wanted it all to stop. I didn't want to talk about Alice or my life or any of it.
My head started to pound again and I suddenly felt dizzy. I closed my eyes, trying to focus my vision and relax my mind.
Calm down. Don't panic. It'll be okay.
Memories of my life came crashing in. All the pain, sadness, bitterness, everything I've ever felt hit me like a battering ram.
I heard Lloyd's footsteps head toward me. "Jason," I heard him begin. "Are you okay?"
I couldn't form any words. My mouth felt so dry and the blackness was closing in.
I knew what was coming. It was the same thing that attacked me in my dreams. It was the same thing that clawed at my mind, corrupting even my purest of thoughts. It was the same thing that pulled into its black belly, devouring me whole.
Please no. Leave me alone... I'm begging you.
I heard a familiar laugh echo in my mind. It was the same laugh that erupted in His throat whenever he knew he was welcome inside my throughs.
I shuddered, trying to pull my mind away from his fingers closing in on me.
I felt Lloyd put his hand on my good shoulder, shaking me slightly. He was speaking but I couldn't hear him. My mind was blurring and I felt my heart quicken in pace.
Not again, please, I begged Him. I knew He was coming for me and I didn't want it to happen again.
Lloyd's voice sounded far away. He kept his hand on my shoulder, shaking me a little harder now. I knew he was calling to me, but my mind couldn't snap out of the dark place it was in.
Did you miss me? He asked, scoffing at me.
I wanted to scream, to tell Lloyd to save me like he would do for others. I wanted him to pull me out of the dark sea I was drowning in. I wanted Lloyd to be my savior like he was for everyone else.
I'm getting better! I shouted at Him. He laughed, his voice crawling up my spine.
Broken vases can never be whole again, He told me, laughing again.
His chuckle bounced around in my skull. I felt His darkness crawl in and fog my mind. My body shook as His darkness closed in on me.
Lloyd kept calling to me, but I wasn't listening anymore. My mind was too focused on the voice inside my head.
Don't pretend, boy. I'm right here, just say ye, the voice beckoned.
I tried to say no. I wanted pull myself away and run back to Lloyd, but I couldn't. Sudden rage filled my veins and I shot my head up. I looked right at the Green Ninja, my eyes clouded in a dark purple mist.
Lloyd pulled away, shock on his face. He reached out to me and I jerked away.
"Don't touch me," I growled. My voice was deeper, like it was possessed by an evil spirit.
I knew what was happening to me.
He wanted control.
Please! I don't want to do this! I begged the voice. I wanted no part in this. I didn't want this to come out.
I didn't want to hurt Lloyd. I would rather hurt myself over him.
The voice laughed once more, mocking me with my own fear. He wrapped his claws around me, pulling me under. I could feel his black sea wash over me, flooding my lungs. I wanted to fight Him, to take my body back before he had complete control, but I knew it was too late.
He had what he wanted.
You're weak. You always have been, and you always will be, He told me.
I couldn't hold on anymore. I let my grip slip away and I let Him take full control. I didn't want to, but I wasn't strong enough to fight Him anymore.
I looked out my own eyes, knowing that they didn't belong to me anymore. I knew what Lloyd was seeing, and I knew he was terrified.
"J-Jason," Lloyd stuttered, staring at me horrified. I knew my eyes were a deep purple. I knew a dark mist leaked out of my lips whenever I spoke. I knew it didn't make sense, but I couldn't explain it. All I could do was sit back and let Him take the wheel, doing His will.
I felt like a prisoner in my own body and mind.
I was trapped, chained to the fear that was consuming me. I wanted to fight back, take control before He did something I couldn't fix.
Please! I called out, knowing He could hear me. I wanted Him to stop, to let me go.
Don't hurt Lloyd, I told Him, knowing he was listening to me.
He laughed once more, saying nothing.
I knew what was coming, and I wanted to warn Lloyd, tell me to leave me be, but I couldn't. I had no control over myself. I belonged to Him, and He could do to me as he wanted.
You are mine, He told me before I felt His darkness completely take over me.

********

Lloyd looked at the shell of Jason, not knowing who had taken over his body.
Jason's skin was darker, almost gray. His eyes were a deeper purple and they were glowing. A dark mist was dripping from his lips like saliva and a black and purple matter was forming in his hands.
Dark Matter? Lloyd thought, knowing the element well. It was the same stuff found on the Dark Island the Overlord used to create Garmatron.
    Why does Jason have Dark Matter? Lloyd asked himself. 
Jason said nothing, only staring at Lloyd while licking his lips. Lloyd wanted to say something, to reach out and touch his shoulder, trying to snap him out of whatever trance he was in.
But he couldn't. He couldn't because the person sitting before him wasn't Jason Miller, the kid who broke his shoulder in an alleyway the night before. The person sitting before him wasn't the scared boy who had just broken down in front of him, wanting someone to protect him.
Lloyd didn't know who was sitting before him, but it wasn't Jason. It was whoever kept Jason prisoner inside his own mind and body.
"Who are you?" Lloyd asked. He knew the person before him wasn't Jason, so closing his emotions to him wasn't difficult.
Jason's lips turned into a smile. He said nothing, but Lloyd could feel rage spill off him.
He had only felt that rage with one other person in his life; the Overlord.
But Lloyd knew the Overlord wouldn't, and couldn't really possess a child. He knew the Overlord was dead, killed by the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master.
Jason said nothing, but the Dark Matter forming in his hands had grown into small spheres that almost consumed both his hands.
"He is mine," a deep voice said. "You can't save him, not this time."
Anger boiled over inside Lloyd. He grabbed both Jason's arms, ignoring his broken shoulder. He started shaking Jason, watching his head bob back and forth. The sickly mist started to flood out of Jason's mouth, dripping onto the bed, rolling onto the floor.
Lloyd gripped Jason's shoulders tighter, trying to snap him out of whatever hell was going on behind those eyes.
"Jason, snap out of it!" Lloyd cried. He wasn't going to let whoever this was take an innocent boy and use him for whatever he wanted.
You can't have him! Lloyd wanted to shout. His throat felt clogged and he couldn't form any words.
Jason started laughing, rolling his head back. Lloyd stopped shaking him, pulling away. Jason's body acted as if it had no bones inside of it. He could move his arms and hands in unsettling ways.
"Jason," Lloyd started, reaching out to him. Jason continued laughing, then snapped his head upright, causing the Green Ninja to cry out and push himself off the bed.
"He is mine," the voice said again, lifting his good arm toward Lloyd.
A sudden flash of purple filled the room, blinding Lloyd's vision.
Jason, what are you? Lloyd thought, falling to the ground. His back hit the floor and his breath left his lungs.
Above him, Jason stood, his arm dangling from the cast. His shoulder was still broken and Lloyd felt a sickness roll through his gut at the sight of it.
"Jason," Lloyd said, his eyes wide.
Jason grinned, more mist falling from his lips.
"Jason is gone."