"N-No! Get off of me! Y-You can't put that thing on me!" Harumi's cries filled Lloyd's ears, causing him to rouse from his slumber.
As Lloyd opened his eyes, he found himself hanging from something. He was in shackles, with his arms held out to his sides and suspended a few inches off the nearby ground. Beside him hung Lulloyd, and to his other side was Mage. Across the room from him was none other than Harumi, who was struggling against two Stone Swordsmen that were attempting to affix something around Harumi's neck.
Harumi swung her legs wildly, trying to knock the assailants away. Lloyd began to stir, trying to pull himself free from his binds. As he began to make noise from the clattering of his chains, one of the two Stone Swordsmen turned to look back at him.
"Don't put that on her!" Lloyd's voice was hoarse but loud, "She can't have that on her! Get off of her!"
The Stone Swordsman promptly ignored him, turning back to Harumi. He reached up and struck her right in the gut, causing her to wheeze in pain. The momentary pause was all the other needed to affix the Dark Matter collar around Harumi's neck. As soon as it was in place, Harumi's eyes widened. She began to thrash and kick in her binds all over again, but this was no longer in protest. Her breath was caught in her throat, and now it was a wild panic in her body as it reacted to having the Dark Matter directly on her.
"Stop it!" Lloyd shouted, thrashing in his bonds, "You'll kill her! Get, get that off her!" He tried to charge up a blast of power, but nothing happened. The chains were most likely vengestone. He didn't care, shouting again, "Get that off of her, NOW!"
"Oh?" The Emperor's voice rang out from the wall behind him, seemingly right in Lloyd's ear, "And why would that be?"
"She's…" Lloyd didn't have time to think, "She's the Green Ninja! Dark Matter won't corrupt her, it'll kill her! It'll kill me too! You can't put that on her! Look at her!"
Harumi was struggling to breathe. She was starting to go limp, her skin turning pale and her hands rapidly clenching and unclenching to try to find something to help herself with. The display went on for another few seconds, letting Lloyd watch her movements start to become slow and lethargic. Her eyes began to flutter, then shut.
"Release her," The Emperor sounded off, "Place a collar on the child instead. I have seen enough to know that this one is not lying."
Without hesitation, one of the Stone Swordsmen disconnected the collar from her neck. Lloyd didn't see her moving, making him worry that it was too late. After looking a bit more closely, however, he could see that she was still breathing, albeit faintly. Without checking her, the collar was swiftly delivered to a still unconscious Mage, affixed around his neck. It shrank rapidly until it was little more than a choker, but had no clear way to remove it. Thankfully, given the fact he didn't share their nature, he didn't have any reaction.
"Your friend will survive," The Emperor informed him, "You called her the Green Ninja. I suppose it is fair to say that you likely are as well, given your robes. This is most interesting."
Slowly, the others began to stir. Lulloyd lifted up his head and slowly groaned, trying to piece together the last things he remembered. Upon feeling the sudden rush of terror that came with having his head enveloped in something, he started to try to kick the Dark Matter off his face. When he realized it wasn't there, he rotated his head to look around, seeing the others there with him. The memory of being literally enveloped in Dark Matter was a sickening one he thankfully could barely recall.
"Lloyd…?" Lulloyd groaned out, "Wait… you, you came to rescue me!"
"Yeah…" Lloyd shook his head, "I don't think that worked out like we thought it would."
"Ugghhhh…" Mage came to, briefly opening his eyes and looking around, "...Is this what inside the floor looks like?"
"You remember that?" Lloyd asked him. Mage nodded, his fingers reaching up to grip the chains around his shackles and tugging experimentally.
"I remember a lot of weird things…" Mage shook his head, "Here just, give me a second! I can get these chains undone!"
Mage yanked on the chains, groaning out as he did. When nothing happened, his eyes widened. He yanked again, but this time his eyes started to flare up gunmetal. The color faded like a flickering light, and instead he was left panting as he thrashed his arms in the chains.
"M-My powers…" Mage looked over to Lloyd in terror, "Where are my powers?!"
"These chains are made of vengestone," Lloyd sighed, "I've dealt with it before, trust me. It's… it's not gonna be worth trying to fight it."
"And so he reveals more of what he knows," The Emperor spoke through the walls, "I believe you might be the one that I must interrogate first…"
"Interrogate?" Lloyd blinked, "Wait… Lulloyd, has he done that to you yet?"
"N-No…" Lulloyd gulped, "I uhm, he said he was waiting for you guys. I think he knew you were coming…"
"To be precise, I knew you were here the moment you stepped foot in my palace," The Emperor answered him, "I am connected to the Dark Matter as you are with your powers. I can sense the presence of any and all that enter this place. The only one that I did not sense was your ghostly friend, yet he was more than willing to reveal himself when the time came."
"Monty…" Lloyd looked around the room rapidly, "Wait a minute, where's Monty?!"
"He is spending his time in a deepstone cell inside of my… swimming pool," The Emperor chuckled, "He has already managed to break out once, so you will not be seeing him around you anytime soon. He has experience breaking out of impossible traps, it seems."
Lloyd ignored what the Emperor was saying, his attention firmly focused on Harumi. The girl was still breathing very shallowly, her body hanging limp. She was unconscious and it looked like she would remain so for a rather long time. Lloyd knew trying to get over to her was pointless, but he had to make sure she was okay. He looked up towards the ceiling, then shook his head.
"Emperor!" Lloyd shouted, "She needs help! You need to get her away from the Dark Matter! She's going to… to die if you don't help her!"
"Oh?" The Emperor asked back, "And what would you give to me in exchange for that?"
Lloyd paused. He had to think of something. Both Lulloyd and Mage looked at him in confusion, unsure of what he was saying. Lloyd forced himself to think again. This Emperor clearly didn't care about Harumi. With how he was treating them, it was fair to say he'd need some sort of bargaining chip.
"I'll… I'll tell you what those two Twins you're sending those Stone Warriors out to find are doing here!" Lloyd shouted, "Get her away from the Dark Matter and, and I'll tell you!"
For a few moments, nothing happened. Lloyd held his breath, terrified as to what was going to happen. Then, without warning, the chains he had on sunk into the wall until his hands were flush with it. The cuffs remained on, but the chains disconnected, letting him drop to the floor. Almost instantly, the same happened with Harumi. He raced forward and caught her just in time, helping her sit upright.
"L-Lloyd..?" Harumi whispered out, her eyes just barely open. Lloyd smiled down at her and helped to stand her up.
The two Stone Swordsmen from before entered the cell, growling at Lloyd as they did. One of them looked down at Harumi. Lloyd held onto her for a moment, but when they both barked something at him, he gently nodded his head. The two came over and roughly haved Harumi upright, who could barely make a noise at them. The two dragged her off, leaving Lloyd to stand up and stare at the entrance.
"Come," The Emperor's voice beckoned, even as the floor outside the cell rose up to make a small path towards the left, "I will escort you to my location. I will handle this personally."
Lloyd looked back to Lulloyd and Mage, who both were staring at Lloyd with confusion and worry. Lloyd gave them a small smile nervously, then began to walk forward. Mage called out to him, but Lloyd couldn't stop. He nervously stepped out of the cell, letting the floor begin to guide him. It led him deeper into the cells. The floor rose up to create a wall between him and the way he came, cutting him off from his friends as he went.
Soon, Lloyd had walked far enough he came to a T-split. Directly in front of him was a large door with a slot in the top for. Two more Dark Matter walls blocked off the two other direction he could go, leaving him in a box with only the door in front of him. He looked towards the door and mentally steeled himself before he walked forward and opened it.
Inside the room was none other than the Emperor. The being stood on the other side of a metal table with cuffs built into the surface if needed. The being was still a massive ball of shifting shadow, with only a vaguely humanoid feature inside of it slightly darker than the cloud and his large purple eyes visible. As Lloyd entered, he heard a growl before a Stone Scout walked up and pushed him towards a chair. Lloyd took a seat. His left arm was forced down into the cuff, in which the cuff from his vengestone shackles was affixed to.
Slowly, the Emperor stepped forward. He raised one arm, placing a small brown dish in front of Lloyd. The dish was filled with a blue liquid. Lloyd looked up at the mass of shadow. Just staring at it from this close made his body tremble. The figure closed his purple eyes, then moved to take another and sit down across from him. Lloyd kept staring at him, trying to make something out. He'd felt this coldness before. This couldn't be anyone else other than the Overlord.
"Drink," The Emperor commanded him, "That is a truth serum, brewed from the Scopal leaves in the northern regions. It will not harm you."
Lloyd looked down at the dish, staring at it nervously. The Emperor said nothing more, patiently waiting for him to do so. Lloyd shuddered for a moment, then slowly leaned down and picked up the dish. He shuddered, then forced it all down in one sip. It tasted like one of Master Wu's horrible teas, but nothing that felt like it was going to hurt him. He sat the dish down, wiping the side of his face with his free hand.
"The way you look at me indicates you have dealt with me before," The Emperor surmised, "Yet I have no knowledge of you. Morro has told me you were working with Sun. Tell me, for what reason do you work with such a deviant?"
"You're the deviant here," Lloyd shook his head, "Who even are you?"
"I could ask you the same question," The Emperor placed his shadowy arms on the table, "Tell me, what is your name?"
"My name is Lloyd," Lloyd stated, not needing truth serum to state that, "Lloyd Garmadon."
That caused the Emperor to quirk one of his eyebrows up… if he had eyebrows, that was. The Emperor sat upright, pulling his chair a bit closer towards the table. Just that one action made Lloyd's breath catch in his throat. His eyes trained on the Emperor nervously, unsure what was going on. This was the same feeling as the Overlord… but it wasn't just that. Something else was up. Something else was wrong here.
"Truthfully, then?" The Emperor narrowed his eyes, "You stand by that claim? Your name is Lloyd. Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon?"
"Yes… wait," Lloyd blinked, "I never told you my middle name."
"I have reason to know it," The Emperor stated calmly, "Tell me… what do you know of the Twins in their machine that attempted to invade my Empire?"
Lloyd could feel the serum working. Namely, it was less so that he wasn't able to lie, but more so he found trying to think of a lie harder to do. It was so much easier to tell the truth. He waited for a moment, however, before he forced his lips open.
"Is Harumi in a safe place?" Lloyd asked, "She can't be around Dark Matter. I… I shouldn't be either. I'll only tell you if she's safe."
"I have placed her in a cell much like your ghostly friend," The Emperor informed him, "I have reason to keep her alive, after all. So long as you answer my questions, she will remain that way."
While Lloyd wanted more confirmation, he didn't want to push this man. He was clearly powerful, and right now he was only of use due to the information he held. He took in a deep breath, then began to talk. The serum seemed to have its effect, since he wasn't able to stop himself. He started all the way at the very beginning with his first encounter with the Twins. He went through his encounter, the Iron Doom, and briefly skimmed over each time he fought with them. The Emperor listened, never once stopping him. By the time that Lloyd was done, he was almost panting from having talked so long.
"Other universes…" The Emperor mused, "I see. So you are from a divergent timeline, then. It appears that is a similar case for both the girl and the ghost. How does the ghost and the child fit in with that, then?"
"Harumi said something about them being from universes that share enough of the base signatures to relate?" Lloyd answered honestly, "I don't know how. I just know that was where the Time Twins went to begin with."
"Truly, then…" The Emperor sat back, "Tell me… for what reason do you chase the Twins, Lloyd?"
"Because they plan to take over other worlds, and it's my fault they got away," Lloyd frowned, "It's my duty as the Green Ninja to save people."
"Ah yes… the Green Ninja…" The Emperor crossed his arms, "Tell me… by what way did you become the Green Ninja?"
"The Golden Weapons reacted to me and after that I started training," Lloyd replied.
"Which Ninja was it that saved you from the Fire Temple's eruption?" The Emperor followed up.
"Kai," Lloyd blinked, "Wait… I never talked about that."
"What do you remember about the Megaweapon?" The Emperor continued.
"Nothing, the ninja said my dad used it to make wishes but…" Lloyd looked up at the Emperor, "How do you know this?!"
"I believe I know far more about you than you are aware," The Emperor suddenly showed a smile on his form, a cruel one that arched up evilly, "One last question. What do you know about the Overlord?"
"That I defeated him," Lloyd spoke without thinking. At that, the Emperor's grin slowly faded.
"I see," The Emperor stood up, "Do you stand by the claim that you are from another universe, Lloyd? Would you swear your life on that?"
"I don't need to, we all are!" Lloyd declared.
"Such is your stance," The Emperor waved his hand, "I have obtained all I need to from you, for now. In the future I can tell I will not need to use such things as my serums. You will prove to be a valuable asset to me. I will send for your strange friend next."
"Lulloyd?" Lloyd asked, "You never told me who you are!"
"For what reason must I do that?" The Emperor asked, "I am the Emperor of this land. That is all that you must know."
"Because you're the Overlord!" Lloyd pressed his hand on the table, "And the Overlord can't leave the Dark Island without a host!"
"Is that so? Then I believe you will have to answer that question for yourself," The Emperor waved his hand, "Though when you figure out the answer, I do hope you share it with me," He turned to the Stone Scout, "Take him away."
Lloyd felt the Stone Scout taking hold of him. He undid the cuff holding him to the table, then hefted him up to his feet. Lloyd starred the Emperor down for a few moments until that cold sense of dread he felt washed over him again. He turned himself away from the Emperor, allowing the Stone Scout to escort him back to the cell.
The Emperor patiently waited for the next one to arrive. The same Stone Scout returned with Lulloyd awkwardly shuffling his legs back and forth. The collar he had on had shrunk down around his neck just as it had with Mage by now. He wore the same vengestone shackles as the others, even if he didn't need them. When he came to the chair, he rotated his legs perpendicular to his body and heaved himself into the chair. The Stone Scout went to cuff his hand to the table, but the Emperor shook his head.
"I sense this one does not need bindings," The Emperor declared, "He will answer our questions honestly."
"What… what makes you say that?" Lulloyd rotated his head, "I'm not going to give up anything you tell me to!"
"Because unlike the others, you are smart enough to realize your place," The Emperor leaned forward towards him, "You have fought one with power beyond your own. Even now, you know that I outclass you in anything that comes to mind. I suspect that you have had training against interrogation as well."
Lulloyd blinked in surprise. He didn't remember his father ever teaching him something like that. He'd taught him a lot of things, but not how to resist something like being interrogated for information. Well, it wasn't like he wanted to give away information in the first place, so it didn't matter. He stared firmly at the Emperor, ready to take what he had to say.
"I do not wish to hurt those that do not require it," The Emperor admitted, "Pain is a tool that must be used sparingly at best. Thus, I believe perhaps I can speak to you more so directly. I will allow you to even deny me an answer if you feel it too personal."
"What?" Lulloyd asked in surprise, "Why would you do that?"
"My reasons are ones that you will likely come to understand in time," The Emperor declared, "Let us begin then, shall we?"
Lulloyd sat up a bit more. For some reason, having the Emperor declare he wasn't going to be cruel with him was even more terrifying than him deciding to beat information out of him.
"Your body is unlike anything I have seen… I would have previously taken it as a curse, yet I now believe you are from a world very different from this one," The Emperor began, "Tell me… is the world you come from like you?"
"Yes," Lulloyd answered.
"Interesting… I believe that you were reported to be doing some very interesting things with objects," The Emperor continued, "Do you refute those claims?"
"No," Lulloyd shook his head. These questions weren't hard.
"So that is how you wish to play this," The Emperor sighed, "For what reason do you chase the Twins?"
"They hurt me and my friends," Lulloyd answered simply, "And I went to go and stop them from doing it to other people."
"I imagine so," The Emperor agreed, "Yet I sense that you have another reason. Perhaps you would like to elaborate on that reason?"
"Another reason?" Lulloyd asked curiously, "I don't have another reason."
"So there isn't," Lulloyd was shocked at how easily the Emperor pivoted away from that, "Perhaps you would be willing to tell me what reason that you decided to join Sun and attack my forces in this city?"
"I think that's, pretty clear," Lulloyd responded, "You're a bad guy, we're stopping you."
"Is your morality truly that simplistic?" The Emperor asked. Lulloyd said nothing, making the Emperor's eyes narrow, "You are lying to me."
"I'm not lying to you," Lulloyd answered back.
The Emperor's shadows began to flare up around him in a threatening aura, "You seem wise, yet you seem not to recognize the situation. What do you know about this city?"
"Nothing," Lulloyd raised his hands up, "I'm not from this world."
Suddenly, the Emperor pressed his hand to the table. The shadow that Lulloyd cast behind him began to morph up like liquid, raising up until it was like a claw reaching up to strangle him. That claw turned its fingers into swords, each one pointed at either his neck or head. The hand was dripping in a few places, yet it waved in the air like a shadow would in candlelight. The blades remained trained on him, while the Emperor's eyes glowed right into his own.
"I have much reason to study your body, Lulloyd," The Emperor snarled, "I could simply pluck your limbs from your body and see what it is that makes you like you are. I will do so slowly, however. I will make the pain that you so often burn through stretch for days, and ensure that you will not dare think to oppose me again."
"You won't hurt me," Lulloyd's eyes looked nervously to the blades, yet his tone was firm, "You haven't gotten the information out of me yet."
"And on what basis do you place your faith in that claim?" The Emperor moved the blades so they were each touching Lulloyd.
"Because when you interrogate someone," Lulloyd explained, "Hurting someone off the bat will just ruin any chance of them trusting you later on."
The Emperor relaxed his body. Clearly, this boy had been trained by a professional to avoid any form of interrogation. He must have been given rigorous training to lose his fear of death as well. With a body like that, he wasn't even certain he could bleed either. If the threat of being stripped limb from limb didn't scare him, then this session would bear no further fruit.
"Then I have no further questions for you," The Emperor nodded to the Stone Scout, "Bring him back to the others. I will speak to the girl when she awakens from her slumber."
Lulloyd was stunned from the turn of events enough to not say anything as the Stone Scout helped to guide him away. The Emperor raised his hand, using Lulloyd's shadow to shut the door behind him. Lulloyd looked back as he was walked away, yet the Scout Scout simply barked an order at him to keep moving. Without much choice, Lulloyd did as he was told.
Soon, Lulloyd was pushed back into the cell, where Mage and Lloyd were waiting for him. Mage was trying to grind apart the chains on a rock, while Lloyd was simply leaning against the wall to get some rest. When Lulloyd got back into the room, both of them sat upright and quickly raced over to him.
"Lulloyd!" Mage quickly moved up and hugged his side, "Are you okay?! Did the Emperor hurt you?!"
"He uh… he tried," Lulloyd blinked, "But uh, my father has kinda done worse to me."
"Wait, what?" Lloyd asked in shock, "Like what?"
"Let's just say waking up to your bed being in the middle of a harbor filled with Piranha Mechs and Jelly Subs all fully armed... well, you kinda get you over the fear of pointy objects," Lulloyd shuddered, "And missiles."
"Did he say anything to you?" Lloyd asked. Lulloyd shook his head.
"He said he was going to talk to Harumi next but, uh…" Lulloyd looked to the side, "I didn't get anything else from him. He wasn't really… I mean, I didn't think to ask him anything?"
"Do you think you can master build us out of here?" Lloyd asked, "We've been trying to break Mage's cuffs but, it isn't working."
"Uh…" Lulloyd looked up, "I uh, don't think so? I can only do that to things that are made of different parts. The floors and walls are all kinda one big thing. And the bars don't look like I could do that to them either."
"Great…" Lloyd sighed, "Then we need to focus on trying to get Mage's cuffs off so he can get us out of here. Any ideas?"
"Why not do that tornado thingy again?" Mage asked, "That might work!"
"I don't think I can control it enough to balance it right on top of your cuff," Lloyd lamented, "We'll have to find another way."
"We better come up with something soon," Lulloyd looked back towards the bars, "I don't know how long we'll be able to last in here…" The room filled with silence.
"...Wait, why?" Mage broke the silence, "The Emperor hasn't tried to hurt us."
"Uh…" Lulloyd was left a bit stunned, "I mean, it's just that, you know. We're in a bit of a situation, right? It just, felt appropriate."
"But, we're not in any danger right now, so why do you say that?" Mage asked.
"Let's focus on your cuffs for right now," Lloyd interjected, "Let's just hope he's not doing anything to Harumi…"
Harumi sat with her hands in her lap and her eyes trained down there permanently. She sat in the same chair Lloyd and Lulloyd had sat in, yet her fear was far beyond what those two had experienced. As the Emperor stared down at her, her body felt as though all the warmth in it had drained away. She almost felt as though she'd forgotten what it felt like to feel warm at all. Each time her eyes brushed up even slightly towards the Emperor, she felt as though her body somehow found ways to freeze even deeper into her.
"You have a fear about you, Harumi," The Emperor declared, "For what reason do you fear me?"
Harumi said nothing. She felt as though her lips were permanently welded shut. The Emperor, upon hearing her silence, stood up. The sound that produced, however small, sent what felt like a lightning bolt right down Harumi's spine. Her body tensed up without her consent, showing the Emperor all she was feeling. Just seeing that alone was enough to make him slowly nod his head towards her.
"You do not seem to be like the others," The Emperor declared, taking a step around the table, "Something about you is unique. Something that seems to fester inside of you that they do not carry. It is something related to me… and yet it is not," The Emperor paused, "I ask again, why do you fear me, Harumi?"
Harumi tried to speak, but just opening her mouth hardly let any of her breath out. The Emperor was quick to notice this, but made no immediate move to capitalize on it. Instead, he began to stalk around the room. Harumi felt her body clench and twitch with each step that he took. The mass of shadows was unlike anything she had seen before, and yet the sound he produced was far more human than anything else. He took his time in circling Harumi, letting her eyes track him knowing that she would be trying desperately not to.
"Do you intend to make it through this session without saying a word?" The Emperor asked of her before letting out a dark chuckle, "If so, I can assure you a tactic as simple as that would never have worked on me to begin with."
"Y-You…" Harumi gulped, "I-I know who you are."
"Ah, she finally speaks," The Emperor paused, his back to Harumi, "Would you like to share with me what you believe I am?"
"T-The… The Overlord," Harumi gasped out, "T-The embodiment of darkness. A-A byproduct of introducing light into Ninjago. You were sealed away by the creator of this place. Somehow, you escaped the Dark Island."
"Your friend said something similar," The Emperor nodded, "Yet both of you lack… imagination. Perhaps you could tell me more about who I am."
"I don't need to," Harumi gulped, "N-No one in Ninjago would be foolish enough to actually let you off the Dark Island. You.. you threw off the balance, somehow."
"As I have just said, you lack imagination," The Emperor sighed, "Do you not understand what I am saying? If you approach me in such a straightforward way, the details in which you need to complete the picture will be lost to you."
"And I'll never need to figure that out," Harumi trembled as she gripped the table in front of her instead, "Because good will rise up to defeat you."
"It seems that your group holds a peculiar sense of morality… except for the one that has no further use for it," The Emperor nodded his head, "To think that all good must rise up for all evil is a flaw in the very nature of its dichotomy. You define your stance of right and wrong based on the experiences you had grown up with. The things you see in life determine where you stand. Yet injustice is far more prevalent than justice, is it not? By what means can you truly create a metric by which to place faith in an assessment of one's stance on a spectrum that is, by its very nature, a subjective one?"
"You just said it," Harumi refused to look at him, "If… if a system is by its nature subjective, then attempting to evaluate it by objective means fails on principle."
"So you understand that, yet you still believe you can live a life based on only one side of that system?" The Emperor asked her.
"...I don't need to justify myself to a tyrant," Harumi muttered.
The Emperor didn't say anything to that particular remark. Instead, he waited for her to relax. When she was no longer completely tense, he suddenly spun around and crossed the room in two small strides. His shadowy hand came out to grip her chin and yank it up to face him. Harumi's eyes went wide with fear, her body quaking in terror as her eyes were forced to meet those glowing purple ones. Almost immediately, she tried to move her palms together to form a Rhotatae disc. Before she could even make a curve, the Emperor's eyes flared. Harumi's shadow bubbled up behind her and formed two massive claws that grabbed her arms and gripped her wrists until the pain was too much to handle. The Emperor took a step away as her own shadow held her immobile in front of him.
"I am aware of each of the abilities your friends have demonstrated, including yours," The Emperor looked deeply into her eyes, "Tell me, Harumi, do you feel fear?"
Harumi felt she was about to panic. It took all she had in her mind not to actually scream. Being this close, the sensations were piling on her. The memories she had buried were rushing back in full force. Her mind felt like it was drawing blanks to come up with a soothing remark, and her body felt as frigid as ice. Her lower lip trembled just looked at him, as though speech was something that his very nature wasn't' allowing her. The Emperor just let her remain like that, scared, vulnerable, terrified. She would know her place when in his presence.
"You are a girl that holds many mysteries, so many of which I wish to uncover," The Emperor reached down with one of his free hands to brush the golden ouroborus design that lined the hole in the chest of her gi, "Such a gaudy display. For a girl that seems as innocent and intelligent as you do, such a feature to allow those to see your skin is a blemish upon your image."
"I-I-It…" Harumi's words wouldn't work, "N-Not…"
"I imagine you have meaning behind it, yet I cannot seem to find it," The Emperor paused, "Perhaps I will find more meaning in it if I am to take the time to do so…"
"N-No!" Harumi felt a rush of panic go through her, "D-Don't!"
Suddenly, the Emperor's eyes flared up. The shadowy claws came together to yank her arms behind her and travel up them, forming a binder that then slammed her forward into the table. The jarring pain only rattled her momentarily compared to the fury that was suddenly present in the Emperor's features.
"I will find what I am looking for, with or without your desires aligning with mine," The Emperor snarled, "Do not think that you can resist me, even for a moment, Harumi. I will rip apart anything I wish to if I must. You chose to enter my world. If you do not do so, I will arrange for your new outfit to be a rather nice dress of Dark Matter. I'm certain you would love that, wouldn't you?"
Harumi's eyes were so wild with fear that the Emperor was surprised she hadn't broken down into tears. With how vulnerable she already seemed to be, this would ensure that her fear was going to remain higher than her urge to fight back with him. The shadowy bind was holding her firm while the Emperor stared down at her.
"You seem like a smart one, so perhaps I will let you decide this for yourself," The Emperor's eyes stared into her own, "I know you are hiding something from me, Harumi. Show me. And perhaps this session will end much faster," When Harumi didn't say anything, the shadows around the Emperor flared up, racing out to surround her body. Harumi's world went black for several seconds, leaving her gasping for air in a dark void. The shadows retreated seeming as quickly as they came.
When Harumi looked to the Emperor again, he held up two things. The first was the shard of Lloyd's Realm Crystal that the group used as keys to enter other universes. The other, however, was what her eyes widened at. In his hand, he held the small black chip that Olive had given to her right before she had rescued her from the Vermillion. Just seeing it there, in his hand rather than her own, it was enough to make her blood run cold.
"N-No…" Harumi tried to sit up, "T-That's mine. Give that back!"
"This?" The Emperor looked over the black chip in confusion, "For what reason do you carry this around?"
"That's not your concern!" Harumi felt a bit of courage well up in her, "T-That was given to me by his friend! You have no right to-"
The shadows binding her arms constricted. Harumi had to stop talking just to grit her teeth in pain. The Emperor waited for her to go silent, once more in that trembling and vulnerable state, before he looked towards the chip and growled at her.
"Let me reiterate something here, Harumi," The Emperor opened his palm with the chip up, "You have, by invading my domain, rejected your freedom. It is not a trinket from a friend that you should worry about, Harumi," The Emperor's shadows began to violently stir up around him once more, "It is your survival that you must worry for. I will not tolerate resistance, nor a rejection of my wishes. You chose to come here. Now you will submit to the darkness."
Harumi turned her head to look at the chip. The Emperor's hand began to ripple like water, then the chip sunk into his hand. Just seeing that caused Harumi's breath to catch in her throat. Her eyes watched in horror as both crystal and memento were lost, seemingly absorbed into the essence that was the Emperor. The Emperor looked down at her for a long while, then his shadows began to envelop around her.
"Let us begin our interrogation in full, shall we?" The Emperor's smile suddenly returned, "I have a feeling that you will be far more receptive to my questioning than your friends."
Harumi watched the shadows slowly begin to wrap around her, blocking out the dim light of the room. The last thing she was able to do before her vision was fully enveloped was let out an involuntary scream of terror as her world was stripped away by darkness.
"Are… you sure about this?" Lulloyd asked. Lloyd, looking down at Mage's outstretched arm, shook his head.
"Not really, but we don't have any other choice," Lloyd turned to Mage, "Are you ready?"
Mage nodded his head, a determined gaze on his face. Lloyd was perched up on one foot on top of the cuff that was on Mage's left wrist, with Lulloyd having his arms around Lloyd's hips. Lloyd gave one more look of worry before he focused, twisting into Spijitzu. Lulloyd held onto his body to help him stay upright. Lloyd focused on balancing on top of the small cuff, leaning heavily onto Lulloyd. While he did, he pushed down with his tornado, hoping to break the cuff apart and free Mage.
Instead, the cuff remained firm. Lloyd pushed harder, but this ended up in unbalancing him. He let out a shout of fear as he was sent tumbling down off of the cuff, which dragged Lulloyd right down with him. The two hit the floor hard, leaving Mage to blink and quickly raise his hand up. He looked to the cuff, only to then pout and groan as he saw not even a mark was left.
"It didn't work!" Mage shook his fist, "Gah! How is it even fair for them to lock away my powers?! That's like, all I do!"
"I wish I could be more supportive but uh… you'll just have to get used to it," Lloyd sighed, rubbing his head as he sat up and helped Lulloyd do the same, "It happens to me every other week."
"It's just not fair!" Mage declared. Lloyd could only shrug and slowly help all three of them stand up. Once they had, he looked around as he tried to think of something else he could do. This was clearly vengestone, but it was clearly stronger than Lloyd remembered.
"Let's just keep our chins up, okay?" Lloyd smiled weakly to both of them, "We're all used to being in tough situations. We just have to keep thinking. We can figure this out if we work together!"
It seemed Lloyd's words were enough for the others. However, not long after he said that he heard noises coming from the hallway. The three quickly tensed up and looked towards the entrance, ready for what was about to come.
With a growl, the Stone Scout Lloyd and Lulloyd were very familiar with opened the cell, throwing Harumi's limb body inside. Lloyd and Mage immediately ran forward and moved to help pick her up, checking her over. While she didn't seem injured, she was breathing hard and cold to the touch. Lloyd helped her sit upright. Lulloyd came over to help hold her up, but stopped as soon as he saw who else had come with them.
"You four are proving invaluable to me," The Emperor chuckled at them, "My first round of interrogation has gone well, considering your… resistance."
"Wait, how can it be over?" Mage raised his hand up and spread his palm over his chest, "You didn't question me!"
"It would be in poor taste for me to put a child through that," The Emperor responded calmly, "Unlike your friends, I have the wherewithal to not drag a youth into the jaws of conflict."
"I'm not a child!" Mage protested, "And they didn't drag me along! I demanded they take me with them! I have to pay back the Twins for what they did to me."
"Yes, of course… that still does not excuse them for allowing you to come," The Emperor had the Stone Scout close the cell door and stand beside him.
"L-Lloyd…" Harumi gasped.
"Harumi!" Lloyd quickly turned her to face him, "Are you okay? What did he do to you?!"
"H-He… he touched me, Lloyd…" Harumi gripped her chest, "His darkness. I… I don't want to admit it. I-I checked the dimensional signature right after…"
"You should rest now, Harumi…" Lulloyd muttered nervously, "You, don't look good. You haven't looked good since we got here…"
"This is important!" Harumi shouted suddenly, "You two don't get it! He's not just the Overlord! He's YOU!"
"...What?" Lloyd shook his head, "No. No, you have to be wrong about that. He can't be! Lloyd doesn't exist in this world, Sun does!"
"Look!" Harumi thrust her watch up in Lloyd's face. On the screen were two wave-like graphs. One of which displayed his face, the other a hastily shot picture of the Emperor. The two graphs slowly overlaid on top of one another. When Lloyd saw what Harumi was saying, his eyes widened.
"I have deemed that watch to be of no concern to me," The Emperor smirked, "And she is smart enough to know not to use it against me."
"Who are you?!" Lloyd suddenly demanded, "You… you've been hiding behind that shadowy stuff this whole time! Show us who you really are!"
"Do you truly wish to know?" The Emperor asked, "Can you handle the truth?"
Suddenly, Lloyd felt his chest run cold. He looked down to Harumi's watch and the patterns she was showing. Then, he looked up to the Emperor, a shadowy being that had no features on his body. Lloyd looked to Mage, then Lulloyd. Both of them had a similarly confused look on their faces. Lloyd, after a moment, nodded his head.
"Then see this, my prisoners," The Emperor declared, "See the face of the one that only those privileged are allowed to see. See the face… of your Emperor."
Suddenly, the shadows around the Emperor shot out around him like a dark cloud. The shadows passed through Lloyd and the others, allowing them to see who stood before them. The Emperor stood tall with four black arms. His skin was completely black, with some small purple lines around his shoulders and elbows. He wore a beautiful sleek set of purple armor across his torso, with intricate blue markings carved against it. He wore no helmet, instead a crown that looked to be made of dark matter itself laid upon his head. His eyes, however, were completely dark purple, the same color the Overlord had shared. Along the figure's arms, sickening purple blades seemed to just out of the elbows and extend past the hands, pulsing with dark power as he moved. The Emperor placed those hands behind his back as he stared down the four in the cell. As the four were able to look upon his face, however, it became clear exactly who they were seeing.
"Now you have seen my true form," The face that spoke to them was none other than Lloyd Garmadon's own, purple pupliless eyes shining, "Rejoice… and kneel before your Emperor."
Author's Note:
Greetings readers! I just wanted to take a moment here to plug my tumblr again! I've created this to give updates on my fics and let me just share some general thoughts . You can also find this link in the description on all of my accounts. I would very much enjoy if you gave it a look! I had a slight mishap of having to transfer and then remake the blog, so if you did subscribe already, click the link and double check! Thanks again and NINJA-GO!