Ninjago - Heart of Stone

Chapter Twelve: The Celestial Clock

Garmadon grit his teeth against the sharp pain that pierced his gut, his chest on fire with agony. His muscles screamed for sweet release, his lungs empty and cold, his throat dry, dust tickling the roof of his mouth. His tongue hung limply from his gaping mouth, and he wanted nothing more than to give up. Letting go had never before held such sweet, melodious meaning as it did now.

Still, Garmadon did not yield. Overlord had instructed him to scale the mountain, and so scale the mountain he would. He would make it to the top, one way or another. He would get there somehow.

The sun beat down on him mercilessly; his sweat poured like a waterfall over his entire body, making his grip slack and slippery. His eyes stung with the saltiness of his sweat, and it filled his mouth and nostrils, smothering him. Even the ever-looming threat of plummeting to a gory end did not keep his resolve strong. Only the desire to please the Overlord, his master.

He reached for a handhold, made sure his grip was firm, and then reached again, straining his already taut muscles beyond the breaking point. He groaned with the effort, stifling a cry as pain jolted through his body, sending a spasm through his entire arm. He jerked so roughly that he nearly lost his grip, and he was left dangling precariously from the rocky wall, his destination miles above him.

He was sore, aching, and tired, and his every fibre begged him to stop. But Garmadon was going to reach the top no matter what. He was going to reach the top, even if it killed him.

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Lexi's eyes flew open, her heart thundering, her breath coming in short, spastic gasps. She looked around wildly, wiping sweat from her forehead with one hand and feeling around for her sword with the other. It took her a moment to realize that she was in a tent, and that she had fallen asleep there a few hours ago.

"Lexi?" She jumped violently as the flap was pushed open, revealing the soft, concerned face of Misako. Her chest tightening, Lexi scrambled to her feet, hoping she didn't look to disheveled. "Is everything alright? I thought I heard—"

"I'm fine," Lexi said, interjecting before she could say what she knew to be true. She didn't want to hear that she'd been crying out in the sleep again. That was supposed to be a thing of the past. She'd gotten over it once he left, once she had Fiona all to herself. "Everything's fine."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I think you should come out of the tent— get some fresh air, the weather's lovely." Misako sighed. "I doubt it will stay that way, though."

Their arrival on the island of darkness had been quite the shock. Far from the stormy, gloomy wasteland they'd expected, the island was cheerful, tropical. The only thing separating it from a resort was the stench of blood that emanated from the trees, but it was quickly adjusted to.

"Okay." Lexi tugged at a strand of lose hair, hoping her mother would take the silence as a hint to leave. She was beginning to rather regret having lashed out at her yesterday, even if it was only because the tension between them was becoming unbearable. Lexi hated being at odds with Misako, even if Misako wasn't reciprocating her iciness.

Mercifully, Misako did seem to understand that Lexi wanted her gone, and so she straightened up and back out of then tent, hurrying away without another word. Lexi was left standing there, listening to the muffled sounds of laughter and talking. The ninja were excited to be here, she knew. They were excited to finally have arrived, to have the chance to fight again.

Lexi sighed heavily, pushing her hair behind her ears and smoothed out the wrinkles in her pants. She was used to having nightmares, and used to hiding them behind false cheerfulness and a guarded smile. But this one had been different somehow. This one hadn't been the usual bloody battlefield she visited so often-- no, she was longer dreaming of her parent's gory deaths. This time, she had dreamed of pain.