Chosen by Destiny

I'm still caught up with the Olympics, but at least I found time to write this chappie! We'll get to know more about Haruka & her relationships with Wu, Garmadon, & Misako. Plus, there's gonna be a little bit of drama here, so enjoy!


Chapter 45: An Old Flame

"Haruka… is Lloyd's birth mother."

Those words kept echoing in the ninjas' ears.

How did someone like her end up with the dark lord himself!?

Sure, Garmadon and Misako were an item before, but the jade-eyed woman broke up with him for reasons Sensei Wu had yet to explain, but what convinced her to bear his child!?

"What on earth did Haruka see in Garmadon…?" Cole asked in astonishment.

Wu also had vivid memories of the young woman who became the mother of the green ninja, although she was never there for her only child. In fact, her relationship with the dark lord was a lot like a certain couple in the present…

"Before I can answer your question, I want to tell you a little more about my past here with my brother and about Misako and Haruka."

The First Spinjitzu Master's younger son led his students to the back of the monastery so he can tell his tale with little chances of being discovered.

"Like I said earlier, before my father left this world, he wanted me and my brother to continue our guardianship over the Golden Weapons and prevent the way of the ninja from dying out by passing down his teachings to those who have proven themselves worthy of the art. We went far and wide across Ninjago, gathering potential candidates to become ninjas and kunoichi who will defend the world from darkness. In the end, only two individuals passed their training and unlocked their ability to do Spinjitzu. You can say Garmadon and I were very surprised when we learned that the only ones who caught up with us were two young women. They were the ones you saw earlier. They were Misako Andersen and Haruka Christiansen."

The old sage's grey eyes clouded over with bittersweet memories as he continued.

"Misako and Haruka moved into the monastery to train alongside us. They both actually knew each other for some time before Garmadon and I met them. They have been friends ever since they were in middle school. Anyhow, we lived with each other and before we knew it, we even became infatuated with each other."

"So which one did you like?" Jay asked curiously.

"First, I had a childish crush on Haruka and I thought the attraction was mutual because she too had taken a liking towards me. But in the end, we were still young and our 'love' turned out to be nothing more than adolescent infatuation. Even though we moved on, we still got along."

"Then why didn't you stay with her?" Zane tilted his head as he inquired his teacher.

"That also brings us to Garmadon's relationships with Misako and Haruka. At first, he preferred Misako because she was a very shrewd and calculating individual. It was little wonder she was able to master the way of the ninja. To be honest, I also liked her for those reasons but I was a timid boy and I always had trouble telling her how I felt. Because of the influence of the venom within him, Garmadon had a 'bad boy' image that drew many girls to him. As smart as she was, Misako was no exception. They got together before I could profess my feelings for her. I would be lying if I say that I wasn't jealous, but then… there was Haruka."

Remembering a certain kunoichi left in the present time, Wu gave a long sigh.

"Haruka wasn't necessarily unintelligent but Misako was apparently the brains of the duo. She was a pensive girl, always deep in thought. That was also why I had a crush on her. I wanted to know the thoughts that went on in her head. Again, I was too shy to confront her but she ended up being the one to approach me. We shared our thoughts on so many things, great and small. This went on for some time until one day, she admitted to me that she was also attracted to my brother even before we started our brief relationship. A few months passed when Misako grew more aware of Garmadon's evil lust for total dominion over Ninjago."

"Then she broke up with him…" Jay concluded for his teacher.

"Hai," Wu nodded, "Garmadon loved Misako, but even she knew he still loved power more. She confronted him about the evil that's been slowly corrupting him and he grew furious and ended up showing his true colors to her. Deciding she wanted no part in his plans to shroud the world in darkness, Misako left him, but she was still hurt by her decision. With their relationship over, my old feelings towards Misako have been rekindled, but I didn't say anything because it was a tough time for her. But even before she started their tryst with each other, Misako, and even I, noticed the way Garmadon and Haruka looked at one another. Again, Haruka was a pensive girl and Garmadon was a 'bad boy' who kept to himself."

"So how did they end up with each other?" Kai furrowed his brows with impatience.

The backstory was pretty long and Wu was starting to feel a little winded, but he wanted to tell every detail so his students had a good idea of what's to come.

"Whenever Garmadon and Haruka were together… they were a lot like Lloyd and Iris."

The ninjas were astonished by their teacher's words.

Even they had to admit Lloyd and Iris' interactions were undeniably cute, but it was difficult for them to imagine the former's evil father in such a scenario with anyone for that matter.

As if he could read their minds, Sensei Wu spoke up.

"As evil as he may be, then and now, even Garmadon was a young man like all of you."

The four elemental ninjas remained silent, letting the ancient man continue his long backstory.

"Haruka wanted to know more about Garmadon, but he always kept to himself and considered her to be nothing more than a nuisance. To some extent, he also saw Misako as such too. But as you know by now, Misako was the smarter of the two, but Haruka always had that 'mystery' to her that drew both me and Garmadon to her. After Misako broke up with him, Haruka went to talk with Garmadon and then the two started spending time each other. Misako still interacted with my brother. Though it was clear that her love towards him has faded, she still cared deeply for him. Nonetheless, she still tried to warn her friend of his evil ways, but she did whatever she could to see something in him. Before Misako and I could stop her, she ended up falling for him and Garmadon did so likewise. Even though I grew out of love with her, it still pained me to see her in the arms of another man, especially my brother's. Although she didn't say anything, I can tell it also hurt for Misako seeing her longtime friend with her one-time boyfriend."

"Seriously? Why didn't you say or do something about it!?" Kai exclaimed, astonished that Wu allowed all this to happen in the first place.

"I actually wanted to, but then, I was but a young wallflower. I was fearful of Garmadon's anger, even if it wouldn't be the first time he has taken his rage out on me."

"Take it out on you…?" Zane gasped, "What exactly did he do to you?"

"Ever since the day he was bitten by the Great Devourer, whenever my brother would suffer an extreme surge of negative emotions, like Lloyd is going through right now, he would take it out on me. He would say very hurtful things to me and even struck me whenever our father wasn't looking before his passing. He was my brother, but he was also my bully."

Upon hearing how Wu and Garmadon's relationship was like, Kai's already deep hatred towards the dark lord intensified. He and Nya would argue every once in a while for as long as they can remember, but he would NEVER hit his own sister. EVER.

"Didn't you even TRY to tell on him!?" Jay couldn't believe that Wu just took all that crap from his own brother.

"He would always remind me that it was my fault that he turned out like he is now, and he still does. I always let him get away with it because he was right. As much as it hurt, I deserved all of the physical and emotional blows he dealt on me. But there were times in which it was just too much for me to handle and I would let it all out, but only when I was alone. After all, even I was human. When Misako and Haruka joined us at the monastery, they lent me a shoulder to cry on figuratively and literally."

"But what about Lloyd?" Cole reminded Sensei Wu about why they traveled through time.

"You're right. I can't waste any more time explaining my past. I promise I will reveal more after this mission but now, we must find Garmadon…"


Once more, the ninjas and their teacher quietly snuck around the monastery.

They went in the same direction they saw Garmadon and then Haruka headed to earlier, hoping they would reach them before the dark lord of their time do. Old memories of their time at the monastery rushed in their heads seeing the thin walls of plaster and thin sliding doors made of paper and wood. But there was little time to get all nostalgic. Not with Lloyd's life and possibly theirs at stake.

Once they turned around a corner, a shuffling noise coming from the ceiling got their attention.

The ninjas, thanks to Zane's audio receptors in his ears at full power, pinpointed the source of the sound to the halls of the highest level of the monastery. They had no memories of this part of the place they briefly called home. Only Wu had access to this area of the monastery before it was burned down. Soon, Zane pinpointed the location of the sound they heard earlier in front of a pair of double doors. Unlike most of the doors they saw earlier today and when they lived within these halls, the ones before them had ebony details and the edges were decorated with images of dragons that were embossed on the dark material.

Jay raised his hand, intending to open the paper doors but Wu stopped him.

He knew where this door led to.

"Don't go in." He said.

"Why not?" The blue ninja questioned his teacher.

"That… is Garmadon's room."

Jay recoiled at the realization, grateful that his teacher kept him from blowing the ninjas' cover.

"Then how will we know what's going on?" Kai asked.

"I've only been there a couple of times but I still remember that Garmadon's room had a couple of windows," the aged man answered, "Let's go back outside so we can see what's going on in his room from there."

The ninjas obeyed and crept back to the courtyard, and with Wu's guidance, they climbed onto the roofs with their curved shingles and did their best not to make a lot noise. Walking on their tip toes, the party of five scaled the rooftop with Wu in the lead, guiding them until they were right next to the windows of Garmadon's room.

"…Garmadon…"

Zane's audio receptors caught a feminine and slightly lilting voice coming from the window.

"It's a woman's voice. It must be Haruka." The white ninja whispered.

The ninjas peeked inside the window and for the first time, they got a glimpse of the dark lord's room before he fell to the underworld.

The room was filled with mostly black décor, fitting Garmadon's dark personality. It didn't help that the wallpapers were dark grey, giving even his room a somewhat evil atmosphere. A small table and a wardrobe was situated against the wall furthest from the ninjas' viewpoint. In one corner of the room was a large bed and on that bed was…

"Garmadon…" Wu whispered.

The older son of the First Spinjitzu Master was accompanied by Haruka, who sat next to him.

He and his students fell silent, wanting to hear every word going on between Lloyd's parents.

"Misako looked so upset…" Haruka muttered.

"What of it?" Garmadon responded with a sneer and emerald eyes widened in astonishment.

"Garmadon…! Misako is my friend and you used to date her! I don't want you insulting her!"

"Why not!? She's the one who broke up with me!" The red-eyed man argued back.

"But you're also the one who pushed her away."

"She left out of her own free will!" The angry tone of the corrupted man's voice unnerved the green-eyed woman before him but she wasn't afraid to talk back.

"You're right. Misako chose to leave you because she- "

"Don't say it!" Garmadon quickly halted her.

Haruka looked hurt but she was finally silenced by the First Spinjitzu Master's older son.

"I don't want to hear any more about Misako." The man before her spoke again, but with a less aggressive voice, "She should be grateful that I'm giving her the chance to be with my brother. I know he was in love with her even before she dated me. He should be grateful I'm letting him have his way with her, but he still doesn't approach her. That pathetic ungrateful idiot."

The woman with emerald eyes noticed Garmadon's blood red orbs glow, a strong indication of one of his violent 'episodes' of hatred and rage getting hold of him. She and Misako have seen it several times since they moved into the monastery and Wu have suffered from his brother's cruel temper ever since they were young.

"Garmadon…!"

Haruka wrapped her delicate arms tightly around his torso before he could go on a rampage.

"Let go." The red-eyed man growled coolly.

"No. I won't let you succumb to evil. You may have the Great Devourer's dark venom coursing through your veins but you're still the man that captivated me since I came here. You're still the man whose thoughts I try to decipher and the man whose mysteries have drawn me to him."

The corrupted man stood still in the pensive woman's arms. Feeling them wrapped around his strong figure had this soothing effect on him. Those thoughtful emerald orbs of hers was always like an open book would sometimes even speak for her. One look at Haruka's alluring eyes was enough to free him from the clutches of his own inner darkness.

"Haruka…" Garmadon peeled himself away from her to look into two pools of emeralds.

Wu felt a familiar painful tugging in his heart he hadn't felt in years upon seeing Garmadon and Haruka's faces move closer and closer to one another.

The ninjas had mixed reactions at the scene unfolding before them.

Jay wanted to gag at the sight of Garmadon getting all romantic, Zane couldn't help but wonder if he will have such an opportunity with Heather despite the serious situation he and the others were in, and Cole was disturbed by the fact that Haruka had even fallen in love with such an evil man in the first place.

Kai shook his head as if his motions could actually stop Haruka from doing what he was sure she was about to do with Garmadon. The fire ninja wanted to stop this atrocity from happening but unfortunately, he can't do anything unless he wants to endanger Lloyd's life.

The red ninja had never felt so conflicted in his life.

The party of five could feel their hearts fall once a pair of lips met one another. They felt like a bunch of perverts watching Garmadon and Haruka kiss as the couple were too engrossed in the moment to notice a group of ninjas from the future spying on them.

Even though the ninjas had to let it happen, they still felt like they were letting loose a monster.

Speaking of monsters, a certain four-armed villain made his way to the monastery.

With the Mega Weapon having drained his energy, the present Garmadon's stamina hit a major blow and it took much longer for him to reach the monastery than he would've liked. After he reached the large double doors leading to the courtyard, he scaled the complex he called home in his youth. His frown deepened as he could only think of the unpleasant memories he had of this place, from being bitten by the then diminutive Great Devourer as a little boy, down to his breakup with Misako.

But then again, there was Haruka.

Looking back now, she was much like to him what Iris was like to Lloyd.

She was the only woman who was willing to be with him even though he was the evil one and she used to be with Wu prior to choosing him. Not only that, but she would eventually become the mother of his one and only child.

Only thing is that she may never be a mother after he succeeds in changing the past…

The black-skinned despot snooped around the monastery, trying to find clues to where his past self was until he noticed something at the highest point of the building.

Hanging precariously on the rooftop was the four dull-witted ninjas and his idiotic brother!

Garmadon was beyond pissed seeing them at this time.

They just wouldn't stop bothering him like a bunch of pests! Especially his only sibling!

The dark lord, although his body still felt drained from losing so much life force, climbed up on the rooftop and strode towards his enemies, not caring that he was making a lot of noise, giving himself away to them.

The cacophonous noise of clanging wood far below alerted the ninjas. Looking downwards, the eavesdroppers saw none other than the Garmadon of their time with his blood red eyes, pitch black flesh, and four arms scaling the curved shingles.

"Garmadon…!" Cole growled.

The dark lord climbed on the rooftop with more fervor, pressed on by his hatred.

The ninjas and Wu descended from their perch, trying to bring the battle away from Haruka and their enemy's past self…


Inside the monastery, Haruka was alerted by the unusual sounds coming from outside.

"What's happening…?" The blonde woman broke her kiss with Garmadon and walked towards one of the windows in his room. Before she could reach the pane with her hand, her red-eyed lover grabbed her other hand and stopped her.

"It's nothing. Just some annoying bird." Garmadon dismissed her but she pulled herself away.

"But it doesn't sound like a bird. Let me see." The pensive woman opened the window.

Looking around, she didn't see anything, but she could've sword she heard human voices that seemed to come from below.

"Something's not right. I'll go see what's going on." Haruka closed the window and headed out the door, but her lover got in front of her before she could get out.

"Haruka, I'm not letting you go alone. I'm coming with you."

"Why?"

"Because you're the only person who has the gall to stay with me. Not even Misako wanted to be with me for long. There's no way I'm going to let you leave me."

"Garmadon…"

Red eyes softened their steely gaze and the pair's lips met for just one moment.

"I won't take long, okay?" Haruka asked, pecking her lover's pale cheek one more time. Before Garmadon could respond, his girlfriend left him alone in his room.

He couldn't shake off the feeling something big was going on…


While that scene was going on, the ninjas went after 'their' Garmadon. The tyrant's menacing red eyes remained on one person.

"You!"

The dark lord hissed at his younger brother.

Will that imbecile ever stop at nothing to make is life miserable!?

But he had little time now that his sibling's annoying disciples were gaining on him. Using all his four arms, he climbed up the roof with little difficulties despite his muscles being exhausted by using the Mega Weapon once already.

Being ahead of the group, Kai and Jay, who both wielded forms of plasma, lunged forward and tackled the dark lord, throwing off balance but he kept a vice grip on his precious staff with one of his four hands.

Garmadon wrestled with the two ninjas before Cole and then Zane tackled him too.

This time, the four-armed man completely lost balance and he tumbled off the roof, wrestling with the ninjas with three hands but keeping the Mega Weapon just out of their reach with the fourth. Not caring that they might get caught, the group tumbled off the roof and then collided with the hard earth but they continued rolling down the steep mountain where the monastery was perched. They finally came to a stop within the bushes not too far away.

"Brother." An elderly voice caught both the dark lord and the ninjas' attentions.

Wu quietly followed their fight the whole time but also kept a lookout for Haruka, Misako, and even his past self. But now, his aged eyes were focused on his brother, who was pinned down by his students. He may have the Mega Weapon, but he was outnumbered and his energy still felt drained from using the omnipotent staff.

"Garmadon, why must you do this? Why must you rid yourself of your only child?"

Upon meeting his younger brother's stern gaze, Garmadon finally did it.

He cracked under the immense pain his decision has caused for him.

"Do I look like I want to do this!?" The dark lord yelled at his younger brother.

"Did you actually think I had no qualms about taking my one and only child away from myself!? Do you even care how I feel having to do this!?" Red eyes glistened with angry tears. The ninjas never thought that someone as evil as Garmadon also had emotions just like them.

It was all proof that he was still human, at least somewhat on the inside.

There had been times they were too caught up with his notorious reputation to be reminded he was more than just a power-hungry villain.

"If you never wanted to, why are you doing this in the first place?" Sensei Wu responded.

"I-I have no choice! I'll take over Ninjago, even if it's the last thing I do, and I don't want my son getting in my way! As long as he lives, I'm cursed with this damn dilemma that has plagued me ever since he became the green ninja! If I never slept with Haruka, then I will never have to deal with her, Lloyd, or any of you in the first place!"

"But what about Haruka? What about Misako?" Wu reminded his brother.

"What about them!?"

Before Wu could answer, the group heard a feminine lilting voice not too far away.

"Hello…?"

It was Haruka.

Alerted by the presence of his past lover, Garmadon summoned all the power he had left within him to engulf himself in his own dark Spinjitzu tornado and free himself from the ninjas' grasp. He spun away into the forest surrounding the summit of the mountain.

The ninjas all too soon lost track of his whereabouts.

But Haruka was getting closer.

"We must hide," Sensei Wu commanded his disciples, "We can't be seen lest the timeline gets altered." The old man led the ninjas deep into the woods, hiding themselves from the woman who will become their teammate's mother…


Haruka heard even more noise once she stepped outside the monastery and climbed down all those steep stairs. The sounds seemed to come from the forest.

Once again, she thought she heard human voices.

"W-who's there…?" She asked, but never got a response.

Although Ninjago was at peace for now, Wu often said that evil never sleeps.

'Wu…'

The green-eyed woman thought back of her time with him. Even though they were no longer in a romantic relationship, they still cared for each other, much like Misako towards Garmadon.

It was funny how she and Misako loved one son of the First Spinjitzu Master only to grow out of love with them and find solace in the other. But Misako and Wu still have yet to confront each other about their feelings, and they better do it soon because…

SNAP!

Haruka broke out of her deep thoughts and whipped around at the sound of a branch snapping and leaves being crushed by some unknown creature.

It didn't help that the sounds grew closer as her heartbeat increased.

The blonde woman darted her emerald eyes around, even more frightened than she had ever been. Before she knew it, a dark hand grabbed her and clamped her mouth shut!

Haruka screamed as best as she could, hoping Garmadon, Wu, or Misako could hear but given her distance, it was all in vain. Then a pair of hands held hers behind her back and then a fourth grabbed her slender waist, rendering her almost entirely immobile.

The poor maiden was too frightened to even use Spinjitzu as this strange terrifying creature she had no idea looked like dragged her into the forest, away from the monastery.

The future was looking bleak…


Oh no! What does (four-armed) Garmadon plan to do with Haruka? Will the ninjas be able to rescue her? Will they keep Lloyd from being erased? Find out in the next chappie!

BTW, I always had this headcanon that Garmadon was a 'bad boy' & bit of a bully while Wu was shy in the past. IDK, I think it fits them. But I think Garmy might've been a little OOC here but I have NO intentions of doing such. I'm just tired of seeing villains portrayed as nothing more than one-dimensional baddies without feelings or a 'deep' motive. I wanted to show Garmadon's thoughts and how he feels with the decisions he made in life.

Anyway, please review!