Chapter 11-Broken Thoughts

Lloyd knew something wasn't right.

Well, there were lots of things that weren't right. Nothing had turned out quite the way Lloyd had expected it to, when he'd first set off to find his father, but at the moment, the twists and turns of their journey wasn't what bothered him. There was something else.

No matter how much Lloyd wandered, his mother was absolutely nowhere to be seen. And his father? The pleasant, caring Garmadon that Lloyd had encountered on the ship was now gone, replaced by a silent, moody version.

The whole mansion was filled with an uncomfortable silence, one that made Lloyd more than desperate to put everything to an end. The sooner he got rid of the teapot, the sooner everything would fall back to normal. As close to normal as it could get anyway, with his father ruling the island and the soldiers being nothing more than mindless zombies fulfilling every one of his requests.

But getting the teapot wasn't going to be simple. It sat in Wu's former office, and Lloyd's father had barely left the room that morning. Who was to say he wouldn't simply stay there for the rest of the day? Maybe even the rest of the week.

Lloyd paced up and down the hall, watching the door to the office intently. He weighed his options, finally deciding that his father was not going to come out. Which meant that Lloyd would have to swipe the teapot right from under his father's nose.

It wouldn't exactly be the first time Lloyd had stolen something, but it would be the first time the consequences could be more than unpleasant. If he failed, his father would know Lloyd wanted to steal the teapot, and it would never be left unattended again. If he failed, Lloyd would lose his only chance.

"You can do it Lloyd," he whispered. "You can. For dad."

With that, Lloyd took a slow breath, and knocked upon the door to Wu's office. His father opened the door, eyes heavy with exhaustion. When he looked down at Lloyd, Garmadon seemed both surprised and slightly disappointed. As if he'd been waiting for someone else.

"Hi, dad," Lloyd said, trying to act cheerful. "You've been here for forever. What are you doing?"

"Ah." Garmadon shrugged, stepping back in order to let his son come inside. "Just. . . Thinking. You know, about what kind of things we can change around here. . . Any ideas?"

"Well um. . ." Lloyd pretended to think as his eyes moved throughout the room. He spotted the teapot fairly quickly, as it was sitting upon one of the bookshelves. "Maybe we should, um. . . send, send some people to explore more of the island? There's a whole side that's just jungle."

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea." Garmadon turned away, looking out the window. "We might find something interesting."

"Y-yeah!" Lloyd's voice shook, as he inched closer to his goal. He tried to think, tried to come up with some excuse for his father to continue staring out the window, instead of at Lloyd's guilty eyes. "Mom says there are some caves hidden within the island. Maybe we could find something in them!"

For a moment, Garmadon flinched. His stance was now more rigid, his eyes deliberately facing away from his son. With a quick movement, Lloyd reached for the teapot, stuffing it beneath his shirt.

"Well. . . I'll see you. . . at dinner, then?" After Garmadon's continued silence, Lloyd tried to push the conversation, eager to run as far as he could from the office.

His father gave a small nod, and Lloyd could have sworn his voice wavered as he spoke. "Yes. Maybe."

With one last look at his father's back, Lloyd pushed the door open, running out into the hall. His feet propelled him forward, and he moved faster than he ever had before.

He had to get rid of the teapot.

"I still don't see why we have to be the ones going after a giant spider." Jay followed Cole closely, fearful of being left behind. "Kai got off too easy. Scouting the island? Anyone could do that."

"Well, he's by himself, and we're together. I think it balances out."

"I think it does not." Jay shook his head. "How are we even supposed to find it anyway? How are we even supposed to get the poison?"

"No idea." Cole shrugged. "I mean, if it's a giant spider, I suppose we'll probably run into it sooner or later. Look for really big cobwebs?"

"I guess at least we do have a weapon." Jay looked at the sword strapped against Cole's side. "So if worse comes to worse, you can go head to head with the spider. Actually, that's not a bad idea. You should try to fight the spider. If you kill it, we'll probably be able to take as much poison from it as we need."

"And if I'm fighting it, what exactly will you be doing during all this?"

"Cheering you on?"

"Ha." Cole shook his head. "If we're going to do this, we're doing it together."

"What am I supposed to do, punch it? I don't have anything to defend myself with!"

"We'll think of something." Cole stopped in his tracks, studying the scenery before him. "But we better think of it fast."

Jay followed Cole's line of sight, spotting a mesh of large cobwebs stretching throughout the path before them. "You know, team work does sound good, but don't you think we need a bigger team? We should do it together. All of us. So let's go back and get Nya and-"

"Come on."

Cole moved forward, knowing Jay would ultimately follow.

Kai was glad to be alone.

Things had rushed forward far too fast for his liking. One second, he'd set off to rescue his sister. And now, the Admiral was wounded, they were stranded on an island, and an infamous pirate had set sail for Ninjago along with an all-powerful Djinn. It was dizzying, to say the least.

He knew he had to keep his cool, knew that the only way to get out of the island and back into Ninjago would be to stop and think. Plan according to the things he had at his disposal, but it was difficult. His mind buzzed with anger, and there was such a strong desire to do that it was hard to keep still.

As his pace quickened, his mind calmed. Kai pushed himself to move faster, running out of the jungle and into the beach. Once he reached the sand he stopped, his chest rising and falling as he worked to catch his breath.

The Admiral would be alright, Kai was sure of that. They just had to find a way out. They could build a boat. It wouldn't be too hard, but without something to make a sail out of, they wouldn't be able to move very fast. They'd never make it to Ninjago. And even if they did, it would be far too late. Garmadon would surely have-

Kai felt his frustration begin to rise again, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. Maybe they would arrive in time. After all, Garmadon had taken his kid with him. And Kai had no doubt Lloyd would go above and beyond to stop his father from using the teapot. The kid was stubborn and resourceful, and Kai couldn't help but to have faith in him.

Yes, things would work out. As long as he-

The ground beneath Kai began to shake. He looked around, his eyes searching for the source of the sudden movement, but there was nothing. With another powerful rumble, Kai fell back, body slamming against the warm sand.

He felt the sand beneath him shift, as if there was something just beneath the surface. As the ground continued to move, Kai crawled backwards, moving as far away from the shaking spot as he could manage.

In the place he'd been seconds before, the ground split apart. From within the earth, a gigantic creature leaped out. Kai managed to get a glimpse of hundreds of sharp teeth, before the creature once more dove into the earth.

"What in the world. . ."

Misako hadn't come to him. She would never, ever again come to him.

Garmadon leaned his forehead against the cool glass, letting his body slump down as soon as the door had shut behind Lloyd. He felt guilt dragging his mind down further than it ever had before, making any action insanely difficult.

Why had he done it? For the brief, pointless satisfaction of having caused her harm? Now that the sense of victory had fallen apart, he felt nothing but broken. Misako would surely never speak to him again. Whatever chance he'd had, he'd destroyed it.

No, he had not. He could still go back. Go back and fix every single mistake he'd made. He had the teapot, didn't he? Yes. It was about time for him to make the wish he'd originally desired to make. No more fooling around trying to play the part of an all-powerful tyrant. All Garmadon had ever truly wanted was his family. And there was no better time than now, to erase everything.

He turned, his eyes moving through the bookshelves, searching for the teapot. But it wasn't there. Had he misplaced it? Garmadon thought back. No, of course he hadn't. He'd always kept it close, knowing it was his only hope. And yet, it was gone.

Anger rushed through his mind. Wu had something to do with it, no doubt about it. He'd found a way back to the island, him and his broken band of little misfits. And now he'd snatched the teapot from Garmadon's grasp. Or maybe it had been Misako herself, trying to play the part of the hero. She most likely imagined she was smarter than Garmadon; that she could steal from him without suffering the consequences.

It didn't matter. If Wu or Misako truly had stolen the teapot, they wouldn't get very far. Garmadon still had control over Ninjago. He stormed out of the office, shouting at the first soldiers he stumbled upon. "Someone's stolen my teapot. It's very, very important that I get it back. Make sure you make the thief pay for their actions."

The group of soldiers nodded their heads, and snapped into action. Garmadon marched back into the office, moving back towards the window.

"No one is going to make a fool out of me," he hissed. "This island is mine."

Lloyd heard the gate to his uncle's mansion swing open behind him, heard the shouting of orders, and rapid footsteps heading straight for him. It hadn't taken his father very long to realize the teapot was missing. Lloyd tried to push himself to move faster, determined to rid Ninjago of the Djinn.

He tried to look back, but the moment he did so, his feet fumbled beneath him. He both skidded and rolled down the steep path, eventually coming to a painful stop at the edge of the town. With a shudder, Lloyd pushed himself up onto a sitting position.

Both of his legs pulsed with sharp pain, and the same could be said for his small arms. The teapot tumbled from his shirt, falling before him. Smoke emanated from it, eventually taking the shape of the Djinn. Lloyd crawled back, shaking his head at the apparition before him.

"No, I don't want you here!" Lloyd shouted. He looked back towards the path. One of the soldiers was growing closer. He had to keep moving. Lloyd shook his head, knowing he had to rid himself of the evil creature. "I wish you'd get away from me!"

With a smile, the Djinn nodded. "Your wish, is yours to keep."

In a second, the creature had gone, leaving Lloyd alone with the teapot once more. The kid stood with shaking legs, then slowly bent down to pick up the cursed object. With small steps, Lloyd limped forward, refusing to give up.

But part of him knew it was too late. They would catch up with him. And then it would be over.

Nadakhan used the child's wish to reach Garmadon's side.

The pirate jolted, startled at the sudden appearance. "You! But. . . The teapot. It's gone. How are you here?"

"The person currently holding the teapot wished for me to leave them. I decided to rush to you. I thought you might like to know who the thief is."

"It was my brother, wasn't it?" Garmadon growled. Nadakhan simply handed the pirate his spyglass, giving a small nod towards the window.

"The thief is at the edge of town. And one of your soldiers will reach him soon."

Garmadon pressed the spyglass against his eye, searching the path. The smirk upon his face vanished in an instant, as he spotted his son, limping forward, teapot in hand. And then, a few feet behind him, was one of his soldiers. "No. . . Not Lloyd. No."

The soldier unsheathed his sword. Nadakhan moved closer towards Garmadon. "I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to help your son. You cannot possibly get there in time to stop it."

"No." Garmadon shook his head, panic rising in his mind. He couldn't think. Couldn't focus. All he could think about was how Lloyd, Lloyd, was about to be struck down, due to Garmadon's own orders. Somehow, he'd managed to ruin everything. "Not Lloyd, that's not, not what I wanted."

"Well. . . There is a way to save him, of course,"

Nadakhan's voice was calm, far calmer than Garmadon's frantic thoughts. The pirate held onto the Djinn's words, his eyes almost begging for a way out. It was all too much. First Misako, now Lloyd? Garmadon realized it was becoming very, very difficult to breathe.

"You could simply wish it all away. Then the soldier would no longer have any incentive to hurt your son. He would be just fine."

That made sense. Garmadon nodded slowly. He would do anything, anything at all to keep his son safe.

"I . . ." Garmadon's voice trembled, and his eyes shone with exhaustion.

"I wish for it all to go away."