Chapter 13- Trick-or-Treat
Lloyd smiled, looking down at his costume. He laughed triumphantly. Lloyd was a skeleton. A creature of the night. No one could stop him! Every bit of candy in the village would rain down upon him. He was invincible!
Running as fast as his feet would carry him, he jumped in front of Wu, growling loudly.
Wu faked a surprised gasp, "You scared me!"
"Yes!" Lloyd bounced up and down. "I'm the scariest boy tonight!"
"Definitely," Wu nodded enthusiastically. "No one will be able to hold their candy from you."
"Muahahahahahaha!" Lloyd raised his arms, trying to seem taller than he really was, just as he had rehearsed. He'd been practicing on his evil laughter for hours and hours. Lloyd was sure it was terrifying now. People would all do as he wished. And what he wished for tight now was candy. Loads and loads of candy.
Lloyd tugged on his uncle's jeans. "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Wu shook his head. His nephew's excitement was far too grand. But it was extremely contagious. This night would-
There was a rapid, violent rapping on the monastery's door.
Wu walked forward slowly, keeping Lloyd hidden behind him. Wu's heart began to beat fast, a foreboding feeling spreading through him. Maybe it was all the horror stories he'd been reading lately to get into the mood, but he did not want to open the door. His childhood fear of the darkness and the unknown began to re-grow as he walked forward. Hands shaking, knowing he'd regret what he was about to do, Wu unlocked the door. It swung open slowly, increasing the tension chained around Wu's body.
And there, blending perfectly with the darkness, stood his brother.
Both of them froze, their eyes locked on each other's. Crimson and Blue. Standing in the same courtyard where Wu had accidentally condemned his brother to a lifetime in the underworld. Wu's stomach felt sick. His brother's skin was black, as if every inch of it had been charred. He could see his brothers ribs pressing against his chest, a white outline harshly contrasted against the black. Garmadon's head was covered by a large metal helmet, a helmet that Wu recognized instantly.
His brother was King of the underworld.
It was. . . strange. This was the person he'd grown up with. This was the person he'd bickered with, the person that had protected him, his partner in crime. And now, now that the evil had finally robbed him of his humanity, he was so much different. Garmadon didn't seem like Wu's brother any longer. The fact that he had lost his brother was a fact that Wu had expertly avoided as he struggled to raise Lloyd. But now his brother was no more than a couple of feet away from him. The truth couldn't be avoided any more.
Wu could have sworn he felt his heart snap in half.
"Daddy!" Lloyd's voice broke the silence. The young toddler pushed Wu aside, running to embrace his father. Garmadon looked away from his brother, reaching down to pick up his son. He held Lloyd close, pulling him into a tight embrace. The world around Garmadon faded, and the only thing that mattered was the small yet powerful heartbeat that was beating against his skin. Tears threatened to spill as Lloyd wrapped his own small arms around Garmadon.
"Hey Lloyd," The lord of darkness stuttered, attempting to clear away the heavy knot that had formed in his throat. "Do you want to go collect candy with your father?"
"Yes!" Lloyd shouted, smiling widely. He wiggled out of his father's grip, running back to where Wu was to retrieve the bag he and his uncle had decorated specially for tonight. Without a word, he went back to Garmadon, holding his hand firmly. "I'm ready! We're going to be so scary together daddy!"
"Yes. . . we are. . . Together." Garmadon nodded. With one last look at his brother, Garmadon led his son into the night and closed the door behind him.
Wu stood there for far longer than he should have. He stood, because he didn't know what else to do. He stood because everything inside him was being torn apart. He stood because he hadn't known how much he needed Lloyd until now.
He stood because he was alone.
The whole night was ruined. He turned off the lights on the courtyard before stepping inside. He didn't want to be bothered. Wu sat in the darkness, trying to get his feelings under control. This was good. Garmadon could enjoy his son for tonight. Lloyd needed this. Lloyd loved his father. This would make him happy. And if Lloyd was happy, Wu should be happy right?
Wrong.
Wu felt angry. He felt hurt. He felt betrayed. He felt. . . He felt as if his life was going around in circles.
Round and round.
Wu's mother had always loved Garmadon more than him. She had played with him, talked to him, cared for him. Garmadon and Wu's mother had shared something special. Something Wu had never been allowed to experience. Wu's mother hadn't read him bedtime stories to chase the nightmares away. She hadn't held him every night, assuring him that things would be okay. No, Wu was just a figure in the background, never worthy of anything other than a fleeting glance.
Round and round.
Misako had loved Garmadon more than him. She'd chosen Garmadon. She had spent more time with him than with anyone else. Wu had thought Misako was a great friend. But he'd been mistaken. Once Garmadon had taken her heart, it was as if Wu didn't exist any longer. He was left behind.
Round and round.
Lloyd chose Garmadon. Of course. Even though Garmadon wasn't the one that stayed up all night trying to soothe Lloyd during his first months of life. Even though Garmadon wasn't the one that slaved himself in order to make sure Lloyd had everything. Because Wu didn't matter. He'd never matter. He was destined to live without love, watching as everyone around him shared that beautiful feeling, watching watching but never experiencing.
Round and round. . .
Lloyd's eyes were wide.
The village around him was lit up, candles and candles spread everywhere, sending light and shadows dancing all around. It was beautiful, but it wasn't the best part.
All around Lloyd, people came and went, wearing amazing costumes. It was as if he really was in a magic land where anything at all could be possible. There were dragons, princesses, witches, ghouls, ghosts, werewolves, and many other things Lloyd's vocabulary couldn't name.
In other words, the world around Lloyd was fantastic.
"Where do you want to go first?" Garmadon asked, looking around him. It was strange, walking around people, not getting any weird glances. He was the King of the underworld, but this night, he could be just Garmadon. He could be Lloyd's father and nothing else.
"There!" Lloyd pulled his dad forward, leading him to a colorful house. Pumpkins sat upon the windows, each giving off an orange glow. At the door, an old woman dressed as an angel was handing out fairly generous amounts of candy, nearly filling Lloyd's small bag to its halfway point.
As they stepped away to head towards the next house, Lloyd instantly began to rummage through the candy, searching for his favorites. With a sly smile, Garmadon reached down, stealing a couple of sweets from his son's bag.
"Hey!" Lloyd protested, looking up at his father with an adorable pout. "Give it back!"
"Aw c'mon." Garmadon fluffed up his son's blonde hair. "I haven't have candy in ages."
"But you're ooooooooold," The toddler whined, attempting to wrestle the candy from his father's hand. Problem was, Lloyd couldn't even reach his father's hand. Garmadon held the candy just out of reach, teasing his son, a small smirk on his lips. "Old people don't need candy!"
"What? I am not old."
"But you're big."
"Yeah but I'm not ooold." Garmadon popped the candy into his mouth, and Lloyd stopped struggling. They continued to walk through the village collecting candy from as many houses as possible.
At the end of the night, Garmadon and Lloyd sat just on the outskirts of the village, leaning against a tree and organizing the candy from 'yummy' to absolute 'yuck'. Garmadon enjoyed the task, but most of all he enjoyed the ridiculous explanations that emerged from Lloyd's mouth as to why he didn't want to be near certain types of candy.
"Why's this one yucky?" Garmadon asked picking up a candy wrapped up in purple.
"Because purple is bad!" Lloyd stated firmly. "Purple tastes dark. I don't like it when it tastes dark."
"Can I eat it then?" With a small nod from his son, Garmadon unwrapped all of the purple candies, throwing them Into his mouth all at once. He shuddered, enjoying the rush of sugar tingling down his spine. For a few minutes, his senses seemed sharper, his eyes felt wider, and he felt the need to run around in circles for no apparent reason. Garmadon shook his head, laughing lightly.
"You eat these too," Lloyd pushed a couple of chocolates filled with peanut butter towards his father.
"And why don't you like these?"
"Because peanuts make my throat itchy." Lloyd explained. "They don't like me. They try to attack me from the inside and um. . . and they they have little swords and they poke and poke me everywhere!"
"Oh that's not very nice. . . I'll make sure to eat them all so you can be safe." Garmadon stroked his son's blonde hair, while making a mental note about keeping him away from peanut butter. He pocketed the chocolates, knowing that he would only make himself sick if he began unwrapping them now. He'd had far too much sugar.
"So are you gonna stay here daddy?" Lloyd asked, leaning against Garmadon's side. Garmadon held his son close, wishing he could simply stay like this forever.
Well, was he going to stay? If he was. . . He needed to do something soon. If the sun even so much as stroked his skin, he would be chained to the underworld for one more year.
"Do you. . ." Garmadon cleared his throat. "Do you want me to stay Lloyd?"
"Yes,"