Lady Iron Dragon knelt at the edge of the cliff and looked in bewildered wonder at below to the insanity unfolding in the valley below.
She was utterly baffled to see Lord Garmadon alone at the front lines of the battle. He was so out of place here, standing before the gate of a tiny, rustic town lost somewhere in the mountains in middle of nowhere and it was even more bizarre that he appeared to be fighting off the incoming hordes. It was almost as if… He was trying to protect this village.
But, that couldn't be possible…
... Could it?
Regardless, he seemed to be in a tight spot against the invaders and they were swiftly pushing his defense back into the village and past the main gate with ease. There were a great number of these vile soldiers rushing at him from every direction and their brutal attacks seemed to be finally taking its toll.
She didn't think it possible, but it had to be the case - Lord Garmadon was losing in this battle.
Misako watched with a grimace as four more hulking men charged Garmadon, but this time the beasts all struck at the warlord at once. Though she personally knew of his impressive strength and speed, she was not surprised to see that this terrible team of thugs overpowered the warlord with ease in their unified attack.
The group clobbered at Lord Garmadon with their weapons until all the warlord could do was desperately work at defending himself, waving his blades around like a madman, trying in a panic to deflect all of their blows. It was no surprise that all four men were too much to divide his focus among and it took merely another minute before Garmadon was struck by a blow on side of his head. Even though he wore his helmet, the vicious strike still sent the warlord reeling and open to another strike, which was promptly delivered to the back of his head, knocking Garmadon to the ground.
In this one moment of confusion, the men took advantage of the warlord's dizzied state. They rushed Garmadon and stole the katana from his hands and swiftly tied the warlord with a thick rope at his wrists, locking his four arms behind his back. Another rope was looped around his neck like a leash. Each thug took an end of the bindings and pulled Garmadon's reigns taught, forcing the warlord into a stiff kneeling position. Misako flinched as Garmadon let loose a terrible roar, his cry echoing with resounding pain and rage through the valley. As the sound died out on his lips, he became still - Garmadon's head flopped downwards in defeat as he gave into the thugs as they sharply yanked his body in separate directions, laughing at jeering at their prisoner.
Misako's heart thumped loudly in her ears, her heart breaking as she saw Garmadon being pulled apart at the seams in front of her eyes.
He had given up.
Misako pulled her blade from its sheath and she was just about to leap into the fray, but she saw an individual approaching the warlord and his capturers. The warrior cursed at the scene, fearing what would happen next. She returned her sword to her side and breathed deeply outwards, unaware she had been holding her breath for the past few moments.
She hated to remain silent and let this new figure enter the battle against the battered warlord, but now was a time to remain unseen. Patience was a virtue that Misako honored deeply. A surprise attack later would do a lot more than if she raced foolishly into battle now.
She did not want to leave Garmadon open to the threat of a new villain, but she stilled herself and watched eagerly as the man approached the gate of the village. A chill bubbled through her veins - she feared this would not be good.
Garmadon was barely conscious as the robed figure entered into the scene. The thugs instantly stepped back, all grinning and chuckling to themselves with pride as they allowed their higher up a path to the beaten warlord. The man froze just before Garmadon and he slowly bent down, squatting just a foot away from the unconscious man.
The robed man drew his sleeve back from his right arm and he hesitantly extended his gloved hand towards Garmadon's face. He was just an inch away from touching the warlord when Garmadon suddenly flipped his head upwards and with a tremendous growl caught in his throat, he viciously bit down on the man's hand.
A panic buzzed in Misako's chest as the man screamed out, whether it was due to fear or pain, she did not know. She watched in sickened horror as the man struggled to break free from Garmadon's fanged mouth, but the warlord refused to release.
The thugs all burst into action at once, only now realizing their leader was in desperate need of help. They all began fussing to grip a hold of the ropes tied to the warlord and they viciously tugged him backwards, away from the cloaked man. With some sort of inhuman fear of strength, Garmadon managed to resist them with a look of monstrous fury upon his face, his teeth still planted deeply into the other man's gloved hand.
Nonetheless, Garmadon was unable to keep himself from being forced from the mysterious man for long. The man was yelling through the whole ordeal, even as the warlord weakened, giving slightly into the violent tugs on the ropes. Before he stopped fighting entirely, Garmadon lunged forward one last time and crunched down on the man's hand, eliciting a screech of tremendous pain as Garmadon was dragged away from the man.
The robed man stood and he lifted his hand, screeching out, breaking into utter hysterics. Misako's stomach lurched sickly as she caught a glimpse of his mangled hand - his last two fingers were missing and blood was gushing forth from his wounded hand. With a cocky laugh, Garmadon spit the gloved fingers from his mouth, fresh blood leaking down his chin, smearing across his predatory smile.
The thug that was gripping onto the rope that was tied around Garmadon's neck gave him a nasty yank, briefly choking the warlord as he was forced onto his back. Garmadon wheezed as he struck the earth and he began coughing violently to regain his breath. The cloaked figure swiftly drew nearer to the prone warlord, his wounded hand still extended from his own body and he kicked Garmadon - who was still fighting to draw air back into his body - swiftly in the side.
Garmadon groaned and curled into himself, but the man kicked him once more in the gut, forcing the warlord onto his back. The injured man thrust one of his feet harshly onto Garmadon's shining metal breast plate - minus one large cut across the front, which Misako had caused in their last altercation - , taking extreme delight in scuffing up its gleam with dirt. Garmadon groaned. Even in his weakened state, he sounded more annoyed than in pain. In another moment more of fury, the man delivered another violent kick, again knocking Garmadon onto his side.
[There's only so much a man can take, even a super powered one!] Misako rationalized, fraught with concern.
A feeling of ominous dread began building in her mind as Garmadon continued to lay there, groaning in pain. She was terrified to even think that he, the one and only Lord Garmadon, was at the end of his rope. He didn't move, even as the man leaned down to the warlord and brandished a sharp knife in his uninjured hand.
This was not looking good for Garmadon... Not at all.
Though Misako could not understand a thing of what was going on, she knew for certain that Garmadon was in a tight situation and that he desperately needed help.
Her help.
Misako's chest fluttered as she took a deep breath and mentally ran through her personal code:
1] I will always stand for what is just and good.
2] I will never let my personal feelings cloud my judgement at any time.
3] I will observe every other alternative to fighting before doing so.
4] Murder is a last resort ONLY if necessary.
5] If a person is in danger, I must protect them and provide them with whatever assistance I can.
6] No one person is ever all bad and there is always more than one side to any story - I must give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
Though she had, admittedly, broken a few of these rules in the recent past, she was truly doing her best to adhere to them all.
"No matter what," she repeated diligently under her breath, as she sheathed her blade back into its scabbard and began to perform a few quick stretches.
She had only once before encountered Garmadon in battle and it still left her rattled to the bone, but she knew he did not deserve this treatment. Misako - no - Lady Iron Dragon was a hero and she would never stray from doing the right thing, even if it meant saving the life of a villain, who was clearly the victim in this unfortunate scene.
Misako felt her stomach leap into her throat and, as she considered the unconscious warlord again, a telling heat crossed her face. Though they had met only that one time, she felt some sort of odd desire to be with Garmadon again. She would allow anyone to do him in nor did she intend to let him slip from her grip ever again, just like he did after that battle a month or so prior…