AN: Welcome to the seventh chapter of "Nature Versus Nurture!" Your reviews are greatly appreciated and squealed over with glee. The key song and its selection for this chapter is "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten, "This is my fight song." The other songs and their sections for this chapter are "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways and The Guardians of the Galaxy, "Your dead-end dreams don't make you smile"; "Without Complaining / Philippians 2:14" by Steve Green, "Do everything without complaining"; and "Youth" by Glass Animals, "You were clearly meant for more than a life lost in the war."
When Snappa returned with Spitta, Bytar, and the food in tow, he opened the door to find Mezmo and Lasha running in circles around the room at top speed, Kai and Jay on their respective backs. Cole was just behind them, a bit slower, but still pretty fast, Ghost on his back. Lord Garmadon was lounging on the couch by the bookshelf, watching them with amusement in his eyes and a book on babysitting in his hands.
"Any TV shows or movies should be approved by the parent first," Lord Garmadon listed off, reading from the book in his hands.
"Any TV showsss or moviesss should be approved by the parent firssst," Lasha repeated merrily.
"Any TV showsss or moviesss should be approved by the parent firssst," Mezmo repeated dutifully, stopping for a moment to readjust Kai on his back.
"No hitting or kicking is allowed, from kids or from babysitters," Lord Garmadon read.
"No hitting or kicking isss allowed, from kidsss or from babysssittersss," Lasha repeated happily.
"No hitting or kicking isss allowed, from kidsss or from babysssittersss," Mezmo repeated, then added, "Really? None? None at all?"
"None, none at all," Cole confirmed, twirling in place and trying (and failing) to get Ghost to giggle.
"When in doubt, get me," Lord Garmadon finished.
"When in doubt, get me!" Lasha yelled.
"When in doubt, get Lord Garmadon!" Mezmo yelled back.
"Are you quite done?" Snappa asked, obviously amused at the scene in front of him. "We have the food if you are, but if you want to keep goofing around, we can take it away and bring it back when you're done."
"Wwwe're done, wwwe're done!" Jay said eagerly. He tugged on Lasha's bandolier, requesting, "Lemme down, ppplease!"
"Gladly," Lasha stated, and he brought his hands in front of him, letting go of Jay.
Jay squeaked and tightened his grasp around Lasha's shoulders. "No! You've got to kneel or sit or something! Don't just drop m-m-me!"
Lasha sat obediently.
Letting go immediately, Jay ran to Lord Garmadon, who had just stood from his couch and was stretching. "Did you see what he did?"
"No, I was putting away my book. Are you okay?" Lord Garmadon asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Jay admitted.
"No harm done, then," Lord Garmadon said, and he clapped his hands. "Let's sit in the middle of the room, boys."
"We get to eat on the floor?" Kai asked eagerly, dropping from his place on Mezmo's back like a little, well, ninja.
"We do indeed," Lord Garmadon confirmed.
Kai fist-pumped the air.
Cole strode to the center of the room, getting there first, and knelt. "You can get down now, Ghost."
"You failed, Cole. Ghost didn't say anything," Kai teased, joining him in the middle of the room and sitting cross-legged.
Cole shrugged. "I guess he just isn't ready yet."
"Or mmmaybe he can't talk," Jay suggested, sitting beside them. He looked at Ghost. "Is that it, Ghost? Can you not talk?"
Ghost looked at him for a moment, opened his mouth, closed his mouth, and shrugged.
"Guess that's a 'mmmaybe,'" Jay mused.
Kai spotted the plates first, snatching one out of Bytar's hands. "Macaroni and cheese, please. And apples too."
"Patience," Cole told him.
"I was patient. I said please," Kai pointed out.
"No, that's pppoliteness," Jay corrected.
"Same difference, tomato potato," Kai dismissed breezily.
Lord Garmadon joined the boys in the center of the room, brushing aside some cards on the floor before he sat. "I'll serve up the macaroni and cheese if you'll give me that pot, Spitta."
Spitta gladly relinquished said pot and placed the other item he held, the apple slices on a plate, in front of Ghost.
Ghost took a slice of apple in one small hand and stared at it thoughtfully.
"It's an apple, Ghost. You eat it," Jay said helpfully, and he took a slice of apple and demonstrated, sticking it into his mouth and chewing with exaggerated motions before swallowing loudly and pointedly.
"I'm sure Ghost already knows that, Storm," Kai scoffed, taking the forks from Bytar and tossing one beside each person.
"I'm not so sure he does," Jay stated slowly.
Ghost slowly opened his mouth and placed the apple into it. His eyebrows went way up. He chewed enthusiastically, swallowed, and grabbed another slice.
"I think he likes them," Jay laughed, and he dumped nearly half the plate of apple slices onto Ghost's plate.
"Aw, Storm," Cole said disapprovingly.
"W-w-what? The apple m-made Ghost m-make a facial expression. I'm pppretty sure that deserves a lot of apples, Midnight," Jay said contentedly. "J-just look at Ghost's face."
Cole looked.
Ghost was grinning as he chewed on an apple slice.
Cole sighed. "Fine. But I still want some apples."
"Me too," Kai stated.
"The ones Ghost has are mmmine and Garmadon's, then. Right, Dad?" Jay said, turning to Lord Garmadon.
Lord Garmadon found himself unable to say when faced with a young face and that word. "Right, Storm."
Jay thrust his arms in the air in victory.
"I'm just gonna leave thessse drinksss here. My missssion leavesss in half an hour, ssso I have to get going," Spitta explained. He gestured to Lasha and the two headed for the door.
"Have Lasha explain the babysitting rules to you on the way!" Lord Garmadon called as the door swung shut. He turned to Mezmo and Bytar in turn. "Mezmo, while we eat, explain the babysitting rules to Bytar."
"Mission?" Kai repeated thoughtfully, caught on what Spitta had said. "Like a spy mission?"
"Kind of. We go on missssionsss for the betterment of the world, trying to ssstop Wu and hisss friendsss," Snappa explained.
Lord Garmadon gave him a discreet nod of approval.
"Can we go on missions too, Dad?" Kai asked, turning to Lord Garmadon eagerly.
Again, Lord Garmadon found himself unable to say when faced with a young face and that word. He was so weak. "You sure can, Blood."
Kai shrieked with glee.
Jay giggled excitedly.
Coel fist-pumped the air.
Ghost grinned, but Lord Garmadon was pretty sure that was from having just tried some of the macaroni and cheese Lord Garmadon had just given him.
"But, first you must train for a long time to be able to go on missions," Lord Garmadon added hastily.
"Wwwhen can we start training?" Jay asked eagerly.
"As soon as you finish eating," Lord Garmadon said graciously, then he immediately regretted it as the boys started wolfing their food down as fast as possible.
"Boysss, boysss, if you keep eating that ssspeed you will choke. Ssslow down," Snappa instructed.
Begrudgingly, the boys slowed down, although they were now eating at about twice the speed they had initially been eating at. Forks clinked against plates, drinks were slurped down (and choked on once in Jay's case), and soon enough the boys had completed their meal and were looking at Lord Garmadon eagerly.
"So what are we starting with?" Kai asked, hopping up from his place and prancing around the room. "The Extra-Advanced Grinding Elbow? The Trip of a Hundred Falls? Oh, oh, I know! The Slaughterer's Sacrifice Swing!"
"Where does this child come up with these things?" Lord Garmadon thought to himself, shaking his head, then said, "How about we start with elementary sparring?"
"Elementary sparring! Sounds good, sounds good!" Kai cheered.
"Blood, you face off with Midnight. Storm, you face off with Ghost," Lord Garmadon ordered.
The four boys looked confused.
Lord Garmadon sighed and began pointing around the room. "Midnight, you stand there. Blood, stand next to him, facing him. Storm, Ghost, do the same thing over there."
"We'll just clean up the thingsss and go, then?" Snappa suggested.
"It only takes one snake to clean up. Snappa, you may go. Bytar, Mezmo, you two stay. I want you to put on a demonstration for the boys," Lord Garmadon instructed.
Snappa hissed with disapproval, but did as he was told, packing up the lunch things and taking them away. As he went out the door, he called back, "Ssso long, boysss!"
"Bye, Snappa!" Cole, Kai, and Jay called after him, with a little stuttering on the "b" on Jay's part.
"All right, boys. Watch Bytar and Mezmo. Snakes, come stand over here," Lord Garmadon instructed.
Bytar went to the suggested spot eagerly, while Mezmo did so more begrudgingly.
"Bytar, attack Mezmo, but be sporting about, no dirty tricks at least to start with. Mezmo, defend yourself, but demonstrate only positive techniques," Lord Garmadon stated, wanting to keep the boys believing in the facade that they were the "good guys" and also desiring that the boys wouldn't imitate poor sportsmanship in their play-fighting and then harm themselves. (It was out of interest in protecting his assets, okay. Any evil mastermind would do the same. It had nothing to do with him growing fond of the boys and not wanting them to get hurt, because he wasn't fond of them. He wasn't.) "When you are ready, begin."
Mezmo and Bytar circled each other warily. Bytar flexed his arms, steadfastly avoiding Mezmo's gaze. Mezmo widened his eyes and hissed in anticipation.
The boys gasped in anticipation.
Bytar struck first, swiping a kick at Mezmo's left leg.
Mezmo stepped back then swung forward with a right hook.
Bytar dodged. He feigned another kick, but actually he went forward with a right hook of his own followed by a right-handed upper cut aimed at Mezmo's chin.
Mezmo almost fell for the feign. Quickly, he recovered his senses and ducked, leaning back slightly. Bytar's right hook went just over his head and the upper cut missed entirely.
Sensing Bytar was off-balance, Mezmo went for a punch to the stomach.
Narrowly, Bytar twisted away, using the motion to send him right toward Mezmo's side, which he then tried to strike with an open palm. Bytar's hand connected with a solid thwump.
The boys began moving closer, intrigued and excited by the proceedings in front of them.
Mezmo bent in two at the blow, then jack-knifed back. Warily, he circled around Bytar, searching for an opening like Bytar had found on him.
Bytar grinned savagely and made a 'come on' motion with his left hand, holding his right hand up ready to strike again.
Expertly, Mezmo faked a punch at Bytar's head, but switched at the last moment to grab Bytar's shoulder and shove him away.
The boys were within touching distance now, Kai and Jay behind Mezmo and Cole and Ghost behind Bytar.
Bytar danced back, off-balance again. He swung his arms back, trying to regain his balance before Mezmo could get him. Bytar flailed slightly, not paying attention to his surroundings other than his attacker.
Bytar's left fist went right into the side of Cole's face.
The room went silent.
The two fighters froze.
The oldest boy crashed to the ground.
"Midnight?" Lord Garmadon whispered fearfully.
The other three boys rushed to Cole's side, with Lord Garmadon not far behind.
"Oh, great job, Bytar. Hit the kid, why don't you," Mezmo remarked sarcastically.
"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!" Bytar said helplessly, backing away.
"No hitting! No hitting, it wwwas in the rules, no hitting!" Jay scolded, looking up from examining Cole with worry in his eyes.
"Midnight, you gotta wake up, Midnight," Kai repeated over and over.
Cole groaned. His eyes fluttered, and then they opened. Sitting up, he mumbled lowly, "What was that? What happened?"
"Stupid Bytar was stupid and hit you," Kai said petulantly, glaring over his shoulder at the guilty Constrictai.
"And then you wwwent down and you wwwouldn't get up for like ten seconds," Jay said tearfully.
Ghost didn't say anything, but he flung his arms around Cole.
Lord Garmadon took a deep breath, then he let it out and took another one, then he let that one out too. "I'm very glad you're okay, Midnight."
Cole grinned up at Lord Garmadon. "Awww. Me too, Dad."
"Me too," Kai said fervently.
"M-me too," Jay echoed.
Ghost nodded enthusiastically.
Lord Garmadon turned to the Constrictai now cringing in the corner and eyed him thoughtfully. "Bytar? You're fired."
"It was one missstake, and I didn't even do it on purpossse," Bytar protested feebly.
"But you still made that mistake, and now I can't let you near my- the kids. Go get, oh, Snike. Tell him the rules for babysitting, emphasize the one you messed up, and send him to the other Serpentine in the rotation so that he can be a part of the schedule-making process. Actually, Mezmo, you go with him and work on that schedule. I'll be in charge of training my- the boys. You can come back when you're done," Lord Garmadon stated.
Mezmo gave him a mock salute and escorted the still-protesting Bytar out.
Lord Garmadon sighed and turned back to his- the boys. "Okay. Let's take things a little slower."
"A lot slower," Cole requested, standing up and dusting himself off.
"I want you to, one by one, come up to me and give me your best grip. Try to grab me in a way that would let you take me down," Lord Garmadon instructed.
"Are you going to bbbe okay, Dad?" Jay asked concernedly.
"I'll be fine, Storm," Lord Garmadon reassured.
Jay didn't look convinced.
"Do you really thought I could've fought Wu for so long and not be more than proficient in fighting? Trust me, none of you will be able to hurt me," Lord Garmadon reassured, then added to himself, 'none of you will able to hurt me the way that you are now'.
Jay looked slightly more convinced.
"Now, Midnight, attack me when you're ready," Lord Garmadon instructed, getting into a defensive blocking stance.
Cole looked Lord Garmadon up and down, then rushed at him, grabbing him around the waist and pushing off the ground, trying to tackle the man. He succeeded only lightly rocking Lord Garmadon back and forth.
"That's harder than I thought it would be," Cole admitted, letting go.
"Good try. Next time, don't kick off the ground until the last moment and use your bodily momentum to push me down," Lord Garmadon instructed. "Blood, you may go next."
"Yeah, well, I don't really wanna-" Kai began, but halfway through his sentence he ran to Lord Garmadon and went for his knees, only to end up clinging to the man's legs without success.
"Interesting use of trying to catch me off guard; however, you'll need to do better. If you want to go for the legs, go from behind," Lord Garmadon advised, prying the boy off of him and setting Kai back on his feet. "Storm, you're up."
Jay bit his lower lip worriedly, then he meekly approached Lord Garmadon. Suddenly, he jumped at the man, ending up cradled in his "father"'s arms.
"Was that what you were trying to do?" Lord Garmadon asked, half amused and half resigned.
"I dunno," Jay admitted, and he began squirming until Lord Garmadon set him down.
"Okay, Ghost. Come and grab me, then we can move on to some basic punches once you take your turn," Lord Garmadon coached.
Ghost looked unsure, but he walked up to Lord Garmadon. After a moment, he reached out and grabbed Lord Garmadon's hand in both of his own hands tentatively, then looked up at the man hopefully.
Lord Garmadon looked at the ceiling, trying to gather the strength to say what he needed to say. "Ghost. Ghost, no. Ghost, that is not what I meant."
Ghost looked very sad.
"Aw, look at that face," Cole said, motioning at Ghost.
"Good luck resisting, Dad," Kai joked.
Jay just cooed and gave Lord Garmadon some very big and wobbly pleading eyes.
Lord Garmadon sighed and gave in. "It doesn't mean you can't hold my hand, it just means we're training right now and I need you to train with the others. You may hold my hand later, but for now, let me go."
Ghost gave Lord Garmadon's hand a gentle squeeze. Then he let go, looking incredibly satisfied with himself.
"Okay. Let's run that drill again- Ghost, so help me, you can't hold anyone's hand during training. Not Midnight's, not Blood's, not Storm's. Just train, okay?" Lord Garmadon said exasperatedly.
Ghost dropped the hands he was holding, having somehow fit both Kai and Jay's hands in one of his hands and Cole's in the other. Ghost looked up at Lord Garmadon, the little boy looking the very picture of innocence, and fastened his own two hands together in front of him.
Jay began to giggle at the scene, then Kai joined in, then Cole wasn't far behind. Soon Ghost was grinning up at Lord Garmadon, shoulders shaking with silent laughter, as the other three boys laughed loudly enough for four.
Lord Garmadon couldn't help it. He smiled at his- THE boys. "Fine. So long as you can use those two hands holding each other to punch, okay?"
Ghost nodded happily.
