Salt: A Ninjago story

20: Ghost Story

As they reached the top of the hill, the sky gave way to reveal rugged cliffs and a horizon peppered with dark clouds that rolled and formed into large clusters as they reached land.

'Somewhere out there is the Dark Isles' Lloyd quietly murmured.

Harumi breathed deeply at the bracing wind that rolled in off the sea and turned to look down the coastline 'and that's Darkly's?' she questioned, pointing down the line of clouds to the dark silhouette of a large house, ageing precariously atop a cliffs edge.

'Yes' Lloyd replied.

'Tell me' Harumi asked 'why did you think it would be a good place to hide out?'

Lloyd gave a pensive shrug. Darkly's meant many things to him, none of them good. So why did he instinctively head here? He sighed and gazed towards his childhood home 'Well, why would I come back here? I don't believe anyone would consider I might. But I needed to... needed to lay old ghosts to rest...  I had been considering it. And then all this happened' he lightly took Harumi's hand.

'But... isn't it just a normal school now? No more training the son's of warlords, so why would they hide us if that's the case?'

'The school has changed' Lloyd replied 'but I don't think it's necessarily been successful. The pupil count is low... perhaps their past was too ingrained to allow them a new future. All people will ever see is that past and now they don't belong in either world... and neither do we'

'Sooo... Where's the school for bad girls?' Harumi joked.

Lloyd shrugged 'You tell me' and gave Harumi a small smile. 

She elbowed him and moved forward 'C'mon, I want to see this place'

They set off down the coastline. The dark swollen rain clouds drifted with them and as they approached the house the first spots were starting to fall. Very quickly the gentle drops became a deluge and running the last yards down the driveway they leapt up onto the creaking veranda. Shaking the water from them, they laughed at being caught in the surprise storm.

'How did we get so wet... It was literally a few yards!' Harumi exclaimed.

'Wet rain' Lloyd said and Harumi stared at him blankly.

'As opposed to dry rain?' she replied sarcastically.

Lloyd laughed 'It's kind of a thing here. It always rains heavy. The clouds roll in, get trapped and then dump their contents so they can rise free of these cliffs. You'll not find wetter rain anywhere else' Lloyd sighed 'It's an oppressive place... Like a part of the Dark Isle got trapped here when the world separated'

'Silly question... but if that's the case, was this really the best place to bring me?'

'Hmm, I didn't really consider that' Lloyd replied thoughtfully.

She shrugged nonchalantly 'I'm sure we'll weather the storm... where is everyone anyway?'

'Good point' Lloyd, moved to the large double doors and pushed at them. They weren't locked and when he entered it was obvious the house was deserted. Dust had settled on the sheets that covered the furniture, there was no power and the large hallway echoed with their footsteps 'Obviously it couldn't keep going. They must have closed'

'Its probably for the best...' Harumi quietly contemplated as the gloom accentuated the incessant pound of the storm 'I know what its like to grow up in a dark environment too' and she slowly wandered to the large staircase to take the first few steps up to study the large scrolls that hung down the stairwell. Giant weeping willows and cascading waterfalls dwarfed the wise scholars at their base. She looked back at Lloyd, the flat light casting a grey wash over her luminous skin 'even if this place tried to be a force for good... the darkness would never leave and eventually pull it back down' 

'Well, it tried to pull me down...' Lloyd said watching her study the scrolls.

'Nothing could, you're uniquely good' she mused 'I wouldn't like my chances if I spent any time here alone though'.

'Well we had better stick close together then' Lloyd said with a sly look as he leant on the ornate handrail.

'I think it might be affecting you after all' Harumi joked.

He climbed the stair and hovered next to her 'well, rest in peace, us' he smiled his lips just brushing hers before he continued up the stairs.

'Hey!' She grabbed his hand 'I thought you wanted to help sustain my positive energy?'

Lloyd laughed 'want to see my old dorm?' Lloyd pulled her forward and guided her through the maze like corridors. Dusk had fallen, but it seemed more like night as the storm leeched any light from the world. The creak of old floorboards kept them company as they walked, but it soon became impossible to discern the details around them and a soft glow began to emanate from Lloyd, giving them a eerie green light to see by.

Lloyd stopped 'It's here' he pushed the door open and they entered the long bunkroom. The low metal-framed beds ran along the walls on either side. Stripped of mattresses, the skeleton frames felt fragile and alone in their individual plots. Lloyd walked along the centre aisle and stopped a third of the way up 'this was me' he said looking at the small bed and fell into silence before perching on the edge of the frame and examined the side of the small locker beside it. Running his fingers down the wood, the soft glow from his fingers exposed the scratches of sleepless nights 'how did I end up here?'

'What do you mean?'

Lloyd looked at the floor 'I don't actually recall how I ended up here'

'You don't know?' Harumi asked.

'No. I don't'

'Hmm. Maybe it's not that you need to lay a ghost to rest, but resurrect one...' Harumi threw her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide at the realisation of what she had just said. She looked to Lloyd, who stared back 'I'm... I'm so sorry Lloyd. I didn't mean anything by that. Just... maybe you are looking for answers... I... I'm sorry'

Lloyd ran his fingers through his hair and answered carefully 'Harumi, you resurrected a part of my father, a part that wasn't truly him. I believed it was. That familiar form looked as he did when he first transformed but if my father had truly returned, I would have felt it. All you resurrected was a warped form of the Great Devourer' A silence fell between them. Harumi's a silence of guilt and Lloyds regret and loss 'Perhaps I hoped he was there, even in that form, because I wanted him back... and maybe he could have answered a few questions for me' He lifted his head and looked at Harumi 'I am still pretty pissed at you for resurrecting him, I've gotta say'

Harumi looked down 'It was a pretty shitty move'.

Lloyd took a breath 'Harumi... Do you want to tell me about the Master you mentioned? I'm not looking to find an easy absolution for you, to make life easier for us... I just want to understand' Harumi continued looking at her feet 'the last thing I want, is to become the next person to control you... if that is what happened'

Harumi hovered and Lloyd looked at her, hopeful for some kind of explanation. She moved forwards and knelt before him 'Unlike you, I remember everything...' and she began.