Setup
Lloyd was shocked. "H-how did you know I was here?"
Lord Garmadon smirked, showing fangs. "You don't get to be a warlord without knowing a thing or two about the ninja arts...the dark ninja arts." He took a bite out of his toasted marshmallow.
Lloyd swallowed hard. "You're a ninja?" It kind of made sense, since his father in his world was a Sensei with his own dojo. But this Garmadon was nothing like the peaceful Sensei that was his father.
"Indeed I am. I wrote the book on Ninjellence." The warlord pulled a book out of his desk and held it up for Lloyd to see. "I was hoping for a chance to demonstrate some of my sick, dark Ninja moves on the Green Ninja." He smiled wickedly at Lloyd.
Lloyd studied the warlord. There was only one way out of this room; the same way he came in. If it came down to it, he'd have to fight Garmadon off to stop him and then make his escape. He was pretty confident he could get past the shark army. But that was a last resort. He wanted to talk to him first.
"I'll pass on that," the teen answered, keeping a semi-fighting pose in case the warlord suddenly charged him.
"You talk as if you have a choice. What makes you think I'm going to let you leave here?" Garmadon asked, standing up from his desk and walking around to the front of it, crossing his upper two arms across his chest.
Maybe coming here and talking to Garmadon had been a mistake. But Lloyd had his powers and from what he had been told, Garmadon didn't have any.
"I can't let you conquer Ninjago. I don't know what kind of attack you're planning, but I will stop you here and now if I have to," Lloyd told him.
Garmadon let out a huge laugh. "You and what army, kid? You came alone, which was your biggest mistake."
"I stopped you in Ninjago with one blast of my power. I can do it again!" Lloyd warned him. This was not going according to plan. He was hoping he could reason with the warlord, or least learn what he was planning.
"I'll admit that you caught me off guard in the city, but I have to correct you on a major point-you didn't stop me. I'm still here, and you're on my turf now," Garmadon told him in smug tone. "I have the advantage."
"I'll show you advantage!" Lloyd shouted, summoning his power. He noticed immediately that something was wrong, and he couldn't form his green energy. He tried again and again. What was going on?
The warlord noticed the Green Ninja's struggle and came to stand in front of him.
"Having trouble with something?" he asked smugly.
"My power...I can't access it," Lloyd answered, feeling fear grip him.
"Ah, yes. A precaution that I took care of recently," Garmadon told Lloyd has he circled around him like a lion. "You see, I coated the critical areas of my volcano with vengestone."
"What?" Lloyd gasped. "How do you know about that? That's from…" he trailed off. The warlord didn't know he wasn't the Green Ninja from this world.
"I know what my idiot brother has been teaching those ninja brats-about unlocking their elemental powers so they can stop me. From what I saw you do earlier, you must have unlocked yours already. So, I had my Nerds do some research on what I could do if any of you decided to be foolish enough to attack me here. Great thing about vengestone and what it does to elemental powers, don't you think?" Garmadon grinned, showing teeth.
Lloyd felt panicked. Without his powers, he couldn't fight Garmadon at all. He was helpless, unless he could somehow manage to defeat the warlord in hand to hand combat, which seemed to be his only option now.
The teen quickly pulled his sword from its sheath and lunged at the warlord. Garmadon turned to the side just as quickly and mysteriously pulled out four swords of his own. They clashed weapons, and then the warlord took a swipe with one sword aimed at Lloyd's feet. Lloyd jumped to avoid the strike. He made his own counter strike, aiming to try and disarm his opponent. It was much harder fighting someone who had four arms, and without the use of his powers.
Lloyd tried a series of quick jabs and managed to knock one sword out of Garmadon's hand, but he still had three more. Focusing on the remaining swords, Lloyd missed the warlord perform a sidekick that suddenly knocked the teen backwards. He managed to keep his balance, but barely. He charged again, using both his sword and his ninjitsu and managed to get rid of another sword.
Garmadon smirked at him. "Not bad, kid. You've held out longer than anyone I've fought before, except for one person. But I'm done playing with you."
Before Lloyd knew what was happening, Garmadon disarmed him completely and had him pinned to the floor.
"Ah, that was exhilarating. I've been longing for a good fight," the warlord grinned at the teen. "Now, I'd really like to see who's under the mask." He put the tip of one of his swords under the edge of Lloyd's mask.
"No! Wait!" Lloyd had been told that this Garmadon didn't know his son was the Green Ninja. Too late. His mask was off before he could stop the warlord.
There was a long pause and then… "La-loyd?"
La-loyd? The teen thought, confused. "It's pronounced Lloyd. The second "L" is silent," he corrected.
Garmadon shook his head. "L-l-o-y-d. I named you. I can't believe you're the Green Ninja. I did not expect that. However, given what your mother was, I guess I shouldn't be totally surprised, but this changes everything."
Okay, this is getting weird, Lloyd thought as Garmadon sheathed his remaining swords and then started to pace the room and mumble out loud. The teen shook his head and slowly got up.
"Listen, there's something that you need to know," he started. The warlord stopped pacing to look at him.
"You want to join forces with me and conquer Ninjago together, right? I always hoped you'd come around eventually!" Garmadon came over and gave Lloyd a four-armed hug that lifted him up off the floor.
The teen thought he would be crushed. "Uh...can't breathe!"
Garmadon dropped him instantly. "Ow," Lloyd complained, but the warlord wasn't listening.
"Ah, I've waited so long for this day! To rule Ninjago together as father and General #1!"
"That's not-" Lloyd started to say and then stopped. "Wait, did you just say, General #1?"
Garmadon didn't hear him, he just kept on talking as if Lloyd hadn't even said anything.
"I'll have to get you your own mech. Shark themed, of course. I'll finally have a competent General for once. This is so great!" he continued on his excited ramble. "I'll teach you how to conquer the city and oh, there is so much to do!"
"Stop!" Lloyd interrupted him loudly. Honestly, it was so hard to have a conversation with this Garmadon. "I'm not your son!"
"Wait...what did you just say?" This stopped Garmadon in his tracks.
"I know I look just like him, but I'm not your Lloyd. I'm...from another realm. I know it sounds crazy, and I still don't understand how I ended up here."
Garmadon laughed. "You have pretty wild imagination, kid."
"It's true and I can prove it," Lloyd told him. "Ask me something that only your Lloyd would know."
Garmadon thought for a minute. "Well, since now I know that my son is the legendary Green Ninja, then you should know what I tried the last time I attacked Ninjago and what he and his little band of ninja nerds did to thwart me."
Lloyd shrugged. "I have no idea."
The warlord blinked. "Interesting. It was pretty memorable," he answered. Lloyd was now curious about that statement. But then the warlord came up to him and inspected him very closely. The blonde suddenly felt nervous. How would Garmadon treat him if he wasn't his real son? He had no reason to show him mercy. This could get dangerous.
"You're really not my son, are you?" he asked.
"No, I'm not," Lloyd admitted.
"Now that I think about it, your voice is different and your gi is not the same either," he observed, giving Lloyd's gi a tug. Lloyd shuddered. The warlord had no respect for personal space. Suddenly, he was right up in Lloyd's face, giving him a calculated look. "So, where's my son?"
"He...he's in my realm as best as we can tell," Lloyd answered, trying to hide his fear.
"We?" The warlord repeated.
"I met Master Wu and that is what he concluded," Lloyd told him.
Garmadon stepped back slightly and rubbed his top two hands together. "This is quite an unexpected turn of events. But I'm always one for taking advantage of a favorable situation."
"What do you mean?" the teen asked.
"The Ninja are without their fearless leader, so there is no one to stop me from conquering Ninjago once and for all!" Garmadon told him proudly. "And I have a way to deal with my stupid brother too." He suddenly reached out and took a hold of Lloyd before he could react, and spun him around, keeping him secure with his four arms.
"You can't!" Lloyd tried to get out of the warlord's grasp, but it was impossible.
"Watch me," Garmadon told him in low voice.
Lloyd swallowed hard. What had he done?
AN: Oh man, things just went from bad to worse here for poor Lloyd. I decided to use vengestone in this universe, cause why not? I made Garmadon a bit smarter too-cause I felt like it. It's an AU and it fit what I wanted to do. Also, I can't write a fight scene to save my life, so I kept it short. Thanks to all you who review, favorite and follow. We are truly honored and hope you continue to enjoy!