From the Inside
Chapter 6
Gathering
*I own nothing and any similarities with any other works are purely coincidental.
Passing by a few nervous pedestrians, Dareth tried his hardest to ignore Ultraviolet's droning voice. Her daily bounty hunting program was being broadcast on every channel, and by proxy, nearly every screen in town now. Today's episode was just as foreboding as the last. Pausing to catch his breath near an abandoned electronics store, Dareth couldn't help but feel betrayed seeing regular citizens like him selling each other out to a criminal syndicate.
"Hey, haven't you heard?" Dareth felt a firm hand on his shoulder, and the faint hint of cheap booze wafting towards him. "The color green's been outlawed. Emperor Garmadon's orders."
He ignored the taunt, subtly shifting his weight to the left and preparing himself for confrontation. Being caught by a group of grunts on patrol was not ideal at all, but, even as his cloak and bag were ripped away, he was determined to stand his ground.
"Fine, you found the Brown Ninja." Dareth announced overdramatically, turning away and tossing out a few warning kicks and punches. "I may not go quietly."
"Brown Ninja?" Chopper sounded more puzzled than anything else, pulling out a half-eaten Puffy Potsticker from the confiscated tote bag and looking at it strangely. "Is he even on the list?"
"No list I know." Mohawk scoffed, snatching the potsticker and holding it up for Dareth to see. "Is his power hoarding food?"
"I will have you know my intense training requires a high calorie intake." Dareth frowned, crossing his arms and lowering his gaze towards the ground. "And for the record, your insensitivity to this matter is downright cruel."
Chopper laughed, turning back to Mohawk with a wry smirk on his face. "He's just a-"
His voice was abruptly cut off, and looking up, Dareth saw a gloved hand covering his mouth. That same greenhorn from the bar was there, leaning in and whispering something to his coworker. Dareth wasn't sure how he had missed him, or when he had even appeared, but, despite the fact that he was now standing barely a meter away, it was still incredibly difficult to get a fix on him. He was wearing that black mask again, keeping his voice low, and shielding his face against the side of Chopper's head. Just as soon as he was done talking, he started strolling away, acting even more detached and bored than he had before. Struck by the sheer brevity of the counter, Dareth was left wondering whether he was just another icy enigma like Mr. E, or if he was a man with something to hide. Or maybe both…
Having lost focus on the two remaining grunts, he was stirred from his thoughts as they roughly shoved him against the store window. Feeling the glass strain against his weight, he was met with renewed suspicion.
"You know what, on second thought, we're gonna be taking you in for a few questions." Eyes darting between grunt, Dareth was flummoxed to think what if anything the greenhorn could have said that would have possibly caused them to finally see him as a person of interest. Whatever the case, he didn't have much time to think about it. Wrenching his arms free and awkwardly rolling off to his right, Dareth stumbled into the street. His eyes momentarily fell back towards his bag, which was still filled to the brim with important provisions. But as painful as it was to leave behind all that food, he knew that he had a step on them, and only a step. That was going to have to be enough.
Circling around the dingy cellar, Nya tried not to let her lingering anger overpower her. It wasn't the same, sparring without any of the other ninja, but it also wasn't Pixal's fault that they were all dead or missing. Feinting a jab, she leapt to the side and unleashed a flurry of kicks that knocked her opponent across the room. Pixal stumbled to the ground, and skidded across the icy floor before bumping into one of the storage containers. Nya sighed, slowly standing up again and walking back over to give the nindroid a hand.
"This is getting really repetitive." she muttered, yanking Pixal to her feet and forcing a strained smile.
"Perhaps, but practice makes-" The freezer door suddenly clanged open, and they both turned at the sound. Alert at the thought of an unwanted intrusion, Nya quickly relaxed as she saw it was only Dareth. He looked a little worse for wear, however, panting like a dog and clutching his side. Physical exhaustion aside, the fact that both his cloak and bag were gone suggested that something had gone very wrong in his search for supplies.
"What happened?" Nya asked impatiently, narrowing her eyes with suspicion.
"Sons… of Garmadon members… they mu-mugged me." he sputtered, still desperately trying to catch his breath. "Took all our food and supplies, tried to, to capture me for some, some reason."
"Were you followed?" Misako asked sharply, shooting to her feet and stepping into the light. Nya started at the sight of her, having almost forgotten that she was here.
"I… no. No, I wasn't." Dareth answered finally. Everyone in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief, and, although not pleased with the loss of supplies, Nya quickly turned back towards Pixal, ready to resume her sparring.
"But it was strange." Dareth said eerily, wrenching her gaze back. "Do you remember when I told you about that, that new guy who was at Laughy's last week? Well, he was leading a group of Sons of Garmadon members in their patrol today, and-"
"Did you get a good look at him this time?" Pixal asked quickly, her voice showing genuine interest now. Dareth paused, as if he was somehow unsure of his answer, before giving an indistinct shrug.
"It was still hard to tell because he was wearing a mask again but… I don't know, he kind of looks like Lloyd." Dareth waited a moment, allowing the apparent bombshell to sink in before elaborating on his point. "I mean, his hair's the wrong color, like it's dirty blonde or some sort of light brown instead of blonde, but it's the same haircut! Well, maybe his hair is a little bit shorter than Lloyd, but his eyebrows look exactly the same, and he's got a similar facial structure and all. "
Nya crossed her arms, resisting the heavy urge to start screaming at Dareth. "If that's all the intel you've got, then I guess the only thing we've learned is that the Sons of Garmadon have picked up another unreliable, angsty teenager. Which, given the state of the city right now, seems like just the sort of demographic that would be filling up their recruitments."
Dareth opened his mouth as if to retort, before sighing and shaking his head. Nya was trying her best not to lose her temper, she really was, but it really sounded like he was grasping at straws and perhaps he also knew he was grasping at straws. She made a mental note to watch out for a masked Sons of Garmadon grunt who would look like an off-brand Lloyd, before turning her attention back to her training.
The rest of Resistance looked uneasy as she circled the ring, perhaps not entirely reassured by her bitter tone and fermenting rage, but Nya had neither the time nor the energy to speak cordially. And she certainly wasn't going to waste anymore tears on someone who had given up on them. She had entirely ruled out the possibility of Lloyd returning by now, and although they had sent out a call for help to the other Elemental Masters, at the moment Nya was operating under the assumption that no one else was going to come. And, feeling like the weight of the world was on her shoulders, she had never felt more alone.
Her eyes flared open as the lift abruptly stopped. Lloyd silently walked past the open doors without acknowledging her presence and drifted to the far corner. Judging from his unkempt appearance and sweaty hair, he was probably fresh off of morning patrol; hopefully with something important to report, or else he would be severely punished for this incursion.
"Whatever it is you have to say to Emperor Garmadon, you will say to me first." Harumi said icily, cocking an eyebrow as she turned to face him. Mr. E looked over at him as well, and yet, he still said nothing to explain his appearance. Undisturbed by her question, Lloyd continued to stare out the window at the city carnage below, before shrugging slightly.
"I need to speak with my father."
"State your purpose, or I will throw you out that window." Harumi snapped, growing tired of his blatant disrespect.
"Do it then." he said softly, smiling to himself like a man with all the answers in the world. She blinked, completely caught off guard by his answer. Lloyd was either wholly committed to keeping his cards close to his chest on this one, or he was legitimately indifferent about his own life. Granted, he had seemed kind of adrift lately, like he was off in his own world. While at times his off-kilter disposition had concerned her, she also couldn't argue with his results thus far.
"I… ugh, fine." Harumi shook her head, sighing heavily. "Join the meeting if you want, but I cannot guarantee that he will take kindly to your presence."
Lloyd nodded silently, and continued to stare silently at the fractured apartment complex across the street. Sharing a worried look with Mr. E, or at least what she thought was a worried look out of him, she turned away and silently waited for the elevator to reach its peak. Finally, the doors dinged open once more, and she hurried over to the roof hatch. Stepping out into a chilly and cloudy afternoon, she approached her superior rather cautiously due to the poor nature of her report. "Emperor Garmadon, the citywide sweeps have proven-"
"Incredibly successful." Lloyd interrupted, walking past her with an unusual air of importance in his voice. "This morning, my patrol, which is composed of myself, Chopper, and Mohawk, found the fugitive Dareth and covertly tracked him until he unknowingly led us to the location of the Resistance's base."
Harumi turned towards Lloyd with a shocked look on her face. Finding the Resistance base was a huge development, but he just looked bored and tired, as usual. His gaze never tilted her way, and following his revealed that Garmadon was just as stoic and unyielding as he evaluated the news. Combined with Mr. E's typical nonchalance, Harumi suddenly felt like the odd one out just for having emotions.
"You intentionally allowed a ninja sympathizer to escape your grasp?" Garmadon's gaze was still focused on his city, but he had crossed his arms behind his back and turned his head slightly to the right so that the corner of his eye was boring into Lloyd.
"Er, yes." he answered carefully, his voice a little bit more unsteady. "But the point is, we know where Nya and whoever else is left are hiding, and they don't know that we know that. Rather than just my patrol springing an impromptu attack with you know, just the three members of my patrol, now we can take our time and prepare to mount a full assault on their base."
"Hmm." Garmadon turned away, his face wholly disappearing from view as he pondered the argument. "And where is this base?
"They're holed up in a cold storage warehouse a few blocks away from one of the old abandoned electronic stores." Lloyd said quickly. "Uh, I can go ask Chopper for the specific address, I had him write it down when we got there."
"Yes, retrieve the address." Garmadon said firmly, his voice still displaying a morsel of hostility. "Relay it to one of the generals who are not here so they may begin preparations."
Lloyd nodded slowly, then skulked away back down the stairs. Although his voice had shown at least tepid interest or excitement, his expression and mannerisms upon departing showed nothing but discontent. Harumi could not make any sense out of him, and so she ignored him. Taking a few steps closer, she shifted her attention to continuing her report.
"Although it appears the news is not all dire, my lord, the fact remains that every patrol group not led by Lloyd has been entirely unable to locate any trace of this Resistance." she said carefully, not wanting to fully highlight just how inept the rest of her army had been. "So as far as this upcoming assault is concerned, may I suggest something more surgical?"
She turned towards Mr. E, who took that as his cue to make his presence more clearly known to Garmadon. He finally turned his attention away from his city as Harumi made her pitch, and leaping in with a dramatic flourish, Mr. E slashed out at some of the glowing purple stalagmites to punctate her point. After a long pause, Garmadon motioned his approval with a nod.
"Root out these dissenters." Mr. E quickly bowed and ran back down the stairs, ready to lead the assault on the warehouse. Harumi quickly bowed as well and was moving to leave before another question stopped her in her tracks.
"Why do you think it is that he could so quickly find these rebels when your forces have struggled to locate them for the past week?" Garmadon asked pointedly, clearly implying a level of doubt towards both Lloyd's abilities and his loyalties. "This was his first day leading his own patrol, was it not?"
"Uh, yes, my lord." Turning back, Harumi slowly nodded in agreement, then paused to mull over how best to follow up that line of inquiry. As of late, Lloyd's attitude had been more puzzling to her than his actual actions, with his words showing little signs of lingering sentiment towards anyone. He had certainly been withdrawing inwards, especially around her, and it was difficult to tell whether his lack of social engagement was due to active avoidance or just general introversion.
"We have no reason to suspect at this point that Lloyd is still in league with the ninja, if that is what your concern is." she said finally, although she did not feel entirely confident in her answer. "But I will speak with the grunts who are on his patrol to give their view of the situation, just to make sure he is not attempting to lead us into an ambush."
Lloyd stared blankly at his overcooked burger, wishing that it would vanish into thin air. He had never liked eating meat, and in fact he had just been thinking about going vegetarian until the Sons of Garmadon shut down almost every plant-based food business in the city. But, although it didn't help, the genetic makeup of his meal was not the reason he had lost his appetite. He kept telling himself that selling out his friends was a necessary sacrifice, as deliberately protecting them would likely expose his true allegiances, but none of the admiration his coworkers kept heaping on him made him feel any less two-faced.
"We almost missed him too, that's the craziest part!" Mohawk laughed, stuffing another mouthful of soggy crisps in his mouth. "He looked so ridiculous in that ninja suit that we couldn't take him seriously! You had to remind us that it was even Dareth standing in front of us, remember, Lloyd?"
Chopper nudged him in the side, and he lifted his head slightly, confused by the gesture since he had only been half-listening to their conversation. All the eager faces from other tables quickly clued him in to the fact that they were once again recounting the story of their thrilling pursuit, and he slowly nodded in agreement.
"Um, yeah, I stepped in to remind Chopper and Mohawk here that Dareth the bartender was on the list as a suspected ninja sympathizer, and then I led the two of them on a merry chase." Lloyd said meekly, smiling half-heartedly at the captive audience. "I could have caught him with my eyes closed, I mean, Dareth couldn't outrun a sign post if he tried, but I realized it would be smarter to let him think he had escaped. So we let him loose, then doubled back to see where he would lead us."
The room erupted in cheers, and all the people in the table next to him took it upon themselves to slap him on the back. Taken aback, Lloyd found himself both coughing and blushing from all the attention. Lowering his gaze back down to the table, it took every bit of restraint for him to not immediately rush out of the dining hall.
"It's really nothing, like, it won't mean anything unless you all do your part and catch those bastards." he muttered, knowing full well that nobody was listening to him anymore.
"Jeez, would it kill you to even pretend like you're happy, Garmadon?" Luke jabbed at him from across the table, his tone mostly joking but holding a sliver of envy.
"I'm never happy." Lloyd said coldly, eyes cutting like daggers as he made the entire rest of the table squirm in their seats.
"Sorry to break up the victory feast, gentleman, but the Quiet One wishes to speak with your patrol." Killow announced, mercifully interrupting the death stares. Lloyd looked up quickly, the simmering anger on his face immediately replaced with confusion.
"What does she want?" Although he kept his tone measured, Lloyd quickly shoved his tray out of the way and scurried to his feet, as he was more than glad to have an excuse to leave this unwanted social gathering.
"I don't know, but she said specifically to wrangle up Lloyd Garmadon's patrol minus Garmadon." Killow said sharply, stopping Lloyd in his tracks. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, confused as to why on earth she would only want to talk to Chopper and Mohawk, before he quickly realized what was going on. Noticing Chopper's worried gaze, he sighed and waved, motioning that it was fine for him and Mohawk to go. Still, sitting back down and crossing his arms, he couldn't help but feel disrespected as his compatriots were shepherded out of the hall.
Having also watched their departure with tepid interest, Luke turned back around and looked at him with a look of utter bewilderment on his face. "What the hell was that all about?"
"The Quiet One doesn't trust me." Lloyd muttered bitterly, leaning back in his chair and sighing wistfully. For the briefest of moments, he had felt like he was finally starting to fit in around here, but here was yet another reminder that he was never going to be treated like everyone else. Although he was not particularly surprised by Harumi's continued suspicions, especially since they were more or less true, he nonetheless wondered just how long it would be before anyone would be able to look at him normally again.
A smattering of late afternoon sunlight was pouring out from the clouds, with a piercing glare shooting off from the silver shine of the wheels. Luke had been growing increasingly agitated as they kept driving, and not entirely because of the rather shoddy driving conditions. True to form, Mr. E had organized an incredibly intricate, multi-pronged attack from all sides, and while he doubted that he could have come up with a better plan, he also hated having to drive so far out of his way. Combined with the fact that Luke was somehow still stuck chauffeuring Lloyd around, and he couldn't help but feel like he was still being subtly punished by the bosses for his past failings.
"One of my friends used to go there." Lloyd murmured, his voice airy and distant. "Well, at least on paper, anyway." Luke craned his neck around to see what Lloyd was looking at, then smiled wryly at the sight of the boarded-up entrance.
"I think you'd fit right in with the theatre kids, Garmadon." Luke laughed as they passed by the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts, which had been known for its outspoken queer student population. He hadn't driven much around this part of the city, mostly because it was the opposite direction from most of the places the Sons of Garmadon frequented, but it pleased him to see that their reach and influence did in fact extend out to the edges of town.
"I wonder, how would you know whether or not I would fit in there?" Lloyd called, leaning his head around to make his voice louder against the sound of the engine. "Come to think of it, bleached hair is pretty common in kids with acting backgroun-"
"Shut up, or I'll toss you off this bike!" Luke snapped, resisting the heavy urge to pull out a blade and carve in his face. Lloyd put his hands, indicating that he didn't want any trouble, but just before he turned away to look at the passing buildings again, Luke caught a glimpse of a smirk on his face. Every time he started to think that Lloyd was becoming less of a bother, he just started prying and poking; leading with some sort of convoluted angle or agenda that Luke hadn't quite figured out yet. In general, he seemed more at ease when he was driving, and yet, this extreme almost made him wish that Lloyd would go back to acting all gloomy and depressed.
As they pulled into their assigned post in the side alleyway, Luke leapt out and rounded the corner just in time to see Mr. E emerging from the cold storage warehouse. At first concerned that they had missed all the fun, he breathed a sigh of relief when the silent genius motioned around, signaling that they were out on the streets already.
"They're close." Killow announced, grinning wildly at the troops stationed out front. "Spread out and make a five-block perimeter. We'll box them in."
Nodding quickly and turning around on his heels, he pointed for Lloyd to get back on the bike and took off back the way they had come. Since they clearly weren't going to be walking down this way from the warehouse, it made more sense in his mind to move down to the other side of the alley and cut them off if they tried to sneak back this way. Almost immediately, however, he felt Lloyd frantically poking him in his back.
"What?!" Luke spat, spinning around and forcefully throwing on the brakes. He said nothing to explain why they had needed to stop, and just started pointing excitedly over at a pile of rubble. It took Luke a bit to figure out why he had suddenly gone quiet, but, eyes widening, he soon realized that Lloyd wasn't talking anymore because there were people listening who he didn't want to be recognized by. Parking his bike against the side of a dilapidated apartment building, he followed Lloyd's lead and crept up to the spot where garbage was conspicuously shifting out of place.
Apparently realizing their hiding spot was blown, the group composed of Dareth, Nya, Garmadon's ex-wife, and a feminine robot leapt out into the street and turned tail. Dareth and Nya threw out a couple hurried punches at them before leading their pack down the alleyway, away from their abandoned base. Luke snatched a switchblade out of his pocket and threw it at the girl ninja, pumping his fists as it nicked her leg and she fell to the ground screaming. Lloyd pounced, grabbing the blade and slashing at her as she scurried away.
"Killow!" Luke screamed, turning back up the alley just long enough to alert the frontside forces before also giving chase. "They're running back the other way!"
Before long, Mr. E's stratagem had paid off in full, as he sped into the alley with a group of bikers to block them off. Turning back the way they came, the group was met by Luke and Lloyd, along with Killow and his group driving up behind them. Although the alleyway had a intersecting exit off to the left, Mr. E shifted some of his forces to cover it up before they could try to escape that way.
"Everyone get out of here!" Dareth called, gritting his teeth and holding his fists up dramatically. "I'll hold them off."
"Dareth, there's too many!" Nya cried, seemingly just as perplexed by his bravery as the Sons of Garmadon members were.
"I told you the Brown Ninja would give his life to protect you." he said coolly, somehow unfazed as Mr. E gathered his strength. "I may be slow and out of shape, but I keep my word."
Now donning the Mask of Vengeance, Mr. E leapt in with a quartet of scarlet katanas, and Dareth screamed in fright. It took Luke all of his strength not to break down in a fit of laughter, as the foolish bartender braced for impact. He was cowering like a dog, holding to his word that he would give his life but apparently doing so without even putting up a fight. Mr. E swooped in to skewer him like a kabob, but, in a flash Dareth was saved, and their brilliant leader knocked away by what looked like a giant metal fist.
"Back in Metalonia, it is not polite to scare weak man."
"Karlof?" Nya sounded just as surprised as Luke was, as the large, bulky man strode in from the center alley dramatically. Just as suddenly, a man appeared out of thin air, his body pigmented in grayscale and trailed by what looked like actual shadows.
"Hello, gorgeous." he purred, greeting Nya with a delightfully devilish smile. Not wanting these apparent allies to have any more time to catch up, Luke pulled out another blade and moved to strike, but before he could throw it he was tossed aside by a literal blur.
"It's been a while…" the blur remarked, pausing and appearing like an actual person just long enough to punch Mohawk off his bike before speeding off again. "But it looks like-you-could use our help."
Within seconds, nearly their army had been knocked aside by one fast redhead in sunglasses. The shadowy figure was sneaking around and taking out people as well, and, as the metal man Karlof leapt up and managed to throw Killow off his armored bike, Luke and Lloyd were now the only two Sons of Garmadon left standing. Amazingly, when the speedster came after him, Lloyd actually dodged out of the way and tripped him up, showing more spacial awareness than anyone else he had ever seen. The redhead looked dumbfounded by the feat, and just as frozen by shock as Luke was. He was only dimly aware that Lloyd was reaching into his pockets, grabbing two more of his switchblades before chasing after the Resistance. Turning around the bend to follow them, he saw the Resistance climbing into the back of a garbage truck. Caught in a standoff with the shade, Lloyd actually seemed to be putting up a fight, but he wasn't making up enough ground to stop them. Before he could step in to help, Luke was knocked aside as the fast man rushed past again. He plucked the shadow out of the air and sped to the front seat of the truck. Within seconds they were driving off, leaving Lloyd alone in the alley.
The two blades clattered against the ground as he fell to his knees, his body suddenly shaking and convulsing. Stirring against the wall, Luke thought he heard Lloyd crying into his hands before exhaustion overtook him as well and he collapsed down into the pavement.
I actually wasn't expecting to be able to get the entire first episode of Hunted wrapped up in one chapter, but in general I think the pacing is going to start to pick up now that I have a loose frame of a story to write around. Hopefully this doesn't feel too rushed or anything though because I'm still trying to balance moving the story forward with also really fleshing out the Sons of Garmadon and Lloyd from a character standpoint.
