So with my weekly update schedule, I'm going to keep the chapters a little bit shorter for the sake of my writing speed... However, I can definitely say I'm toeing the line of T and M here with the stuff Lloyd does in the future, I swear... He does not like being nice anymore.
Pappile: If you want, just let me know what you use online and I'll make a temporary account for it if that makes it easier.
Enjoy!
I was exhausted. I finally was able to connect the dots and realized that regenerating ghost bodies was taxing on energy. It was bearable for a short while, but then I started getting tired. It was almost like running, as person's body would strain itself to supply oxygen. Except, the act of running was healing, and the oxygen was my energy level. Easy to do in quick bouts, but not often nor for long periods of time. It explained why I could recover from a stab without exhaustion, but Subaltern could not handle the deepstone.
Pulling my legs from the water, I sighed in relief as the pain instantly faded. There was no after ache, just the feeling of being normal, which felt absolutely amazing. I basked in the sunlight, enjoying the feeling of being free from pain, but I knew that Revanche would want me back soon.
Sighing, I got up after a few minutes and floated towards the lighthouse. I didn't want to invoke that kind of punishment again, but at least Subaltern didn't have to go through it. Two whole days of agony was not an easy task to bear.
While I was still here, I could begin to try and wean Revanche off of whatever he was taking. Since the time I left Earth was when I was only about thirteen, I knew very little on such things. A true professional would know how to do this better than I, which was scary. I would not be able to solve a problem by myself, and there was no way for me to learn how.
Perhaps a portal with a book on how to deal with addiction might fall through, but how am I supposed to use it? Revanche can hardly stand to be around me, and with the latest development, I'm sure he's only angrier than ever!
It's not like I can rebel either, I am forced by the bounds of whatever magic comes from my scar and necklace to obey. If Revanche were smart, he would continue to manipulate my thoughts through orders, and I would be none the wiser. Every memory would just vanish, and I would never remember until Subaltern managed to take the necklace off of Revanche.
Free will was very underrated. Here, I had no choice in my future, no guarantee that I'd be myself. While I did stop caring about my wellbeing, this was a very risky endeavor for Revanche and I. If somehow Revanche's anger exploded, he could use me to take it out on everyone else. I am a very dangerous and versatile weapon with that , I was just glad that only those who put their blood in the vial could control me.
Sitting on the windowsill, I saw Revanche eating a small sandwich. As he glanced at me, I squinted in anger. Two days of pain burning all throughout my legs definitely made me on edge, despite my wish to help Revanche get off of substances.
"You've put this entire operation in jeopardy. I can't have you doing that again, you know." Revanche calmly spoke, standing to face me. I refused to flinch, not allowing weakness in this moment.
"I've been thinking while you've been down there. Somehow you keep that rebellious spark, never wavering from your goals. I do appreciate that, the loyalty to yourself. However, it's not something I can allow to continue. You're putting too much at stake. As far as I can tell, altering your mind is also something I can order you to do. So, for the next five minutes, you get to say anything you want. No repercussions, just plain and simple talk." Revanche spoke, and I growled.
"You're going to regret this. Don't you remember Neuro? What you're about to do is even worse. Once that necklace is taken from you, there will be no mercy and no escape. Perhaps you may have been my brother once, but you took my free will, Subaltern, and your own sanity into a hole that will not easily be fixed. I won't kill you, because I could never imagine taking a life again, though I promise agony.
"I hope you understand that it is not just me you will have to face. Should you continue, I don't think Subaltern will have mercy and convince the Preeminent not to begin an inter-realm war. In fact, he might just start it on his own. Stripping me of my mind will only be an act of war, and whether it will be on the entirety of Ninjago or solely on you is not up to me.
"Whatever you do, you're guaranteed to get yourself and everything you know flipped upside down. No one takes the loss of free will lightly. Your actions will have consequences, and I don't doubt that it will have worldwide consequences.
"But take note one thing. Something I have already experienced.
"Will you die a hero, or have you already become the villain?"
Revanche only glared, and sighed.
"Time's up. I hereby order you to act and think in only my best interests, while forgetting every memory that does not strictly follow academics until this moment, while addressing me as only Sir, Master Lloyd, or Master."
A blink.
Where was I?
"Hello?" I looked up to see a… Something not human? I looked down at myself, seeing that I was the same. Where were my fingers, my clothes? Why was I green? Why was I on a wooden floor?
"Can you talk?" The yellow skinned thing asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but found no words coming out. After a short moment of gaping, I looked back up and shook my head.
"Do you remember my name?" I thought for a second, then nodded. This thing was Master Lloyd, and I remembered that I was to do everything in his steed.
"How about your name?" I frowned, and searched for the name through my fuzzy thoughts. I had no recollection of my name, nor anything else. I only knew facts, but I wasn't too sure where they came from.
"Well, I'll tell you what happened." Master Lloyd sat down next to me, and began to explain.
"Your name is Skivvy. You're my right hand gal, and you follow everything I do. We lived and laughed, having good times in this tower. But, something happened last night. Someone, I vaguely heard something along the lines of Subaltern, tried to kill you. He did, actually. You're a… Ghost now, just like him. Gosh, I can hardly believe you're still here! It's a miracle, Skivvy!
"Sorry, I wanted to be a little less emotional than this, but I'm just really happy that you're somewhat still alive! Anyhow, since you're a ghost, you have to be careful. You can't touch water, or basically anything that's liquid. Be careful around this," Master Lloyd took out a dagger, "it's made of deepstone. It can cut ghosts. Deepstone isn't exactly fun to mess around with. Just don't do anything with it unless I give you permission.
"I'm sorry I let this happen to you! I tried, and then…" I put a hand on his shoulder. I'm sure that whatever happened wasn't his fault.
"Thanks. At least you're still here, right? We've lived here a good long while, and recently I managed to get some transport back to the mainland of Ninjago. We can't go back there yet though, there's people working with the one who tried to kill you. I'm not sure why you seem to have lost your memory, but you at least seem to know me a little." Master Lloyd smiled, and I smiled back.
"Here, let me get you some food. Ghosts don't really have to eat, but I've heard it's really good." Master offered, and he set off to grab me something to eat. I tried to stand, but he refused.
"You just sit there! I just got you back, I'm entitled to treat you a little." He replied, and I sheepishly smiled. Master Lloyd gave me a pancake, and I ate it quietly. Every bite seemed almost uncharacteristically spicy, and yet it gave me energy like I had never felt before. Well, I couldn't exactly remember much, so it could be considered my first time having this feeling.
"Seems like you're enjoying it." Master laughed, and I gave him an energetic nod. I realized that he wasn't having anything for himself, and looked down at my plate. A good three-quarters of the pancake remained, and I offered it to Master Lloyd.
"Oh! Well, I already had a sandwich not too long ago. It's all yours." He kindly replied. Slowly, I took the plate back, and resumed eating.
As I kept eating, I would glance up at Master Lloyd occasionally. I wondered how close we were before I died. Master Lloyd seemed to be such a nice person so far, and he was willing to talk to me the minute I woke up. Truly, he seemed as if he were someone I would enjoy time with.
I finished, and stood up with the plate and utensil in my hand. As I walked towards the sink, I was grateful that I remembered to walk. If I lost all my memory, than it was good that I could do basic tasks. Putting the dish into the sink, I turned back to face Master Lloyd.
"Do you just want to relax?" He offered, and I frowned. I didn't really have an opinion, so I pointed at him.
"Hm? Oh! What do I want to do?" I nodded in response, finding that his interests would likely be more peculiar than my own.
"Well, there's not too much to do. There's a messy basement we never got to, do you think you'd like to help me clean it up?" Master asked, and I smiled. Of course I'd help!
"Gosh, you just came back into the world of the living, and you just want to do what I do?" Master Lloyd laughed, and I gave my own enthusiastic nod. I had yet to form my own opinions, since I really didn't have any memories yet. Well, I had one opinion.
I liked Lloyd.
As we both shuffled down to the basement, just before Master was going to open the door, he curled over and held his stomach. I gasped, and dived to check for any injury.
"Don't worry, it's just a bit of nausea. I'm a natural born vomit-free person. I just don't throw up. It'll go away soon." Master Lloyd reassured, and I only sighed in response. If he didn't want me to pry, I wouldn't.
"Can you open the door? Once the nausea passes, I'll join you." He spoke, and I obeyed. However, I planned to move fast enough that he wouldn't have to work. Organization could happen later, which I planned to do. As I opened the door with the odd lever, I stared at the boxes haphazardly placed all around the room alongside a few bookshelves. Yes, once Master Lloyd was preoccupied with something else, I would reorganize the boxes. None of them were packed efficiently, they were just shoved in and stacked away.
Quickly, I tried to move boxes left and right, adjusting the smaller containers on the bookshelves. Small boxes were soon replaced with larger ones, and the smaller containers were stacked on top. As I continued my work, I glanced at Master Lloyd. He still looked nauseous, and the piles still appeared chaotic.
"You don't have to work so fast, it's okay to slow down." Master sighed, and I followed his wishes. I wanted to finish quickly so I could take care of him, but if he wanted me to go slow, I would.
Shuffling the boxes around the room, I noticed Lloyd started to look better. I'm sure he noticed too, and began to move boxes around too. Of course, it was all small stuff, but it was nice that he wanted to help.
After a good while, we had managed to organize the room in a somewhat acceptable manner. Later, I would turn it from acceptable, to perfection. Well, at least as close as I could get.
"Well, I think it looks good. How about we go back up for a snack?" Master Lloyd suggested, and I accepted. I had yet to feel fatigued, but I knew he was much more likely to be tired. I closed the door behind us, and we both shuffled up the stairs. As we entered the main room upstairs, Master hummed.
"I just realized, don't ghosts have powers? I think that ghosts can turn invisible, become intangible, fly, and possess things. I don't know if there's any other powers than that." Master asked, and I thought. I didn't really remember much about ghosts, but it seemed like a good basic list of ghost powers. It seems I would have to test out my abilities.
"Do you feel hungry? I can make something for you." Master Lloyd offered, and I nodded, but speed-walked towards the stove. I only knew a limited number of recipes thanks to my hazy memories. However, I was willing to cook instead, as I felt it to be my duty.
"I can cook, you know. If you want to make the snack, go ahead. However, I get to make dinner instead, deal?" Master compromised, and I smiled in acceptance. Well, there was a hint of something else I could feel, but I had yet to identify. Besides, it was small, and didn't set any sort of red flags for me. For now, I would ignore it. I did have a snack to make, after all.
Looking at the food we did have, I noted some marshmallows and rice crisps. Rice crisps. It felt odd, not quite the right name. However, I couldn't determine the true name of the cereal-like substance. Whatever the case, I knew something that I could make. Perhaps I am missing some corn syrup to keep the treat moist later, but I believed I could replace it with some extra butter.
Grabbing a pot, I began to place the marshmallows inside. After pouring in a decent amount, I started the stove with a nearby lighter, and began to melt the sweet white puffs. Master sat at a small table with a chessboard on it, with the white side having a king and queen only, while the black had much more. King, queen, knights, rooks, bishops, pawns. The whole deal.
Perhaps it was a challenge? The battle of a desperate king and queen, unable to flee and barely able to fight.
Nonetheless, I focused on the snack. The marshmallows had melted, and I added in some butter. Continuing the stirring, I added in the rice crisps. Finally, the recipe was almost done, and I grabbed a flat glass pan for the mixture. Once the treat was fully stirred, I poured into the pan to settle. After a short minute of flattening the treat, I grabbed a piece and served it to Master Lloyd. Then, I served myself and sat down across from Master.
"It's certainly a sweet treat, I like it! I've always had a sweet tooth, even from when I was little." He laughed, enjoying the marshmallow rice crisps. I enjoyed it too, getting an energy boost and the sweet yet spicy flavor of the crisps. The liquid, butter oils and such, must burn a little of my mouth and give the spicy flavor, I deduced. All foods likely would cause the spicy flavor, something to keep in mind for future meal preparations.
"Well, would you like to play a game of chess? We don't have too much to do, and I don't want to work on the boxes downstairs." Master Lloyd asked, and I once again accepted.
Sitting on the side of black, I rearranged the white pieces back into their default spots. The board was now reset, and I allowed Master to move first with the white pieces. He smiled, and I felt the same small feeling from earlier. I recognized it, and my subconscious started rising up red flags faster than any of my thoughts before.
It was infatuation.
This was concerning. It may be small now, but the feeling can grow quickly if left unchecked. Even if the feeling is watched, I could still have this emotion grow! While I was happy to have an opinion, this was far too fast. This was wrong, and yet the feeling wished to persist and continue to grow.
"Your move." Master spoke, and I looked down. Being quite poor at chess, no matter the strategy I knew, I tried to make a smart move. Once completed, I returned to my troubling thoughts.
With these confusing thoughts, I had to think of what would be best for Master Lloyd. Considering infatuation would be nothing but a hindrance, there would be no reason to pursue such things. Unless Master Lloyd were to show his own feelings, then I would squash, or at least suppress, the small seed of obsession.
Master moved a piece on the chessboard, and I began my own process of trying to identify my next move. Every time I moved a piece, I felt that I was ignorant. However, I had no true way to improve, and so I was forced to forever feel stupid. At least Master may enjoy the satisfaction of winning, while I continue to help him.
"Checkmate. Not a good chess player?" Master Lloyd asked, and I shook my head.
"I'm sure you'll get better. You did lose a lot of your memory after all." He reassured. I gave a sad smile, knowing that I would not have a way to regain the memories, or figure out my past. Instead, I had a future to look forward to, plans to make, and memories to experience with Master.
"Well, there's still some time before dinner, would you like to practice your powers? Maybe figure them out a little?" I grinned excitedly, I really wanted to experiment with my supposed powers! Master Lloyd laughed and held a had out to the entire room.
"Go ahead! Just don't hit me with anything, I'd rather like to stay alive." He offered, and I huffed in amusement. I would never hurt Master Lloyd, all I wanted to do was follow and protect him.
Walking to an open area, I jumped in the air and tried to fly. My feet landed back on the creaky wooden floor in less than a second. I frowned and tried to believe that I could fly. Wasn't it a basic ghost power? Jumping again, I hoped it would work. Unfortunately, just believing was not the key.
What went with flying? Lift, aerodynamics, freedom? I'm sure that being a ghost meant that my powers had to respond emotionally, otherwise I would've already succeeded. Perhaps freedom, letting go, just not caring would be the answer. It felt right, and so I prepared for a few more jumps, this time with indifference on my mind.
One jump, two jump, and three. My feet kept hitting the ground. However, I decided to try one last time, letting go of the past I'd never find out about.
Then my feet didn't hit the ground after just a second. In fact, they never hit the ground for a good while.
As I looked down, I beamed as I had figured out to fly! It may have been the most basic of ghostly powers, but it was something I could do that I knew I couldn't do before! Success was in my grasp, and I decided to push the boundaries of my newfound abilities.
Angling my body forwards, I hoped that I would move in said direction. I did and found that I could control flight easily. Smiling, I flew a few circles around the room, waving to Master Lloyd as I glided.
He laughed and applauded, giving his own small cheers. It felt nice to be praised, and I floated back to the ground.
"You did great! I'm glad you could master flight so quickly! It certainly makes grabbing stuff from high places easier…" Master Lloyd chuckled. Well, he wasn't wrong.
"Why not try invisibility? I mean, as a ghost light already goes through you, wouldn't it be easy to learn invisibility?" He suggested, and I shrugged. Why not give it a shot, right?
Hehehe, I'm trying to give her a break, but that won't happen for just a little while longer... Gotta squeeze in a little more angst, after all.
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