From the Inside
Chapter 4
Makeover
*I own nothing and any similarities with any other works are purely coincidental.
Nya stared out at the carnage, her mouth agape and eyes somewhat hazy. Just hours ago this horrid wreck had been her home, and, while the Destiny's Bounty had been destroyed before, it felt different this time around. She had spent ages rebuilding that ship with Master Wu, and when he had disappeared, it had been one of the only tangible links to his memory. All those hours of aggravating maintenance while the boys were off fighting Anacondrai Cultists, plus most of her memories of training and traveling as a ninja, were rendered null in an instant. Along with…
She sighed, wiping her eyes and blinking slowly. It hadn't quite sunk in yet that Master Wu and the rest of the ninja were all probably dead. They were still searching for signs of life, of course, but she didn't think they would find any. Wu and Lloyd certainly wouldn't be here under any circumstances, as they never made it to the rendezvous point, and, even if any of the remaining ninja had survived the crash, she was pretty sure Garmadon's men would have already dragged them away by now.
"Found anything yet?" Nya called halfheartedly, glancing towards the two figures who were scavenging for bodies a few paces ahead of her. Misako visibly grimaced, before quickly shaking her head in response. Aggressively clawing through bits and pieces of chipped wood, she didn't seem to be in the mood to talk.
"Negative." Pixal said flatly. "I cannot detect any sign of the ninja." Nya nodded solemnly; it was incredibly disheartening to hear, but she also wasn't really expecting them to find anything. Just as she was about to continue rummaging through some of the rubble herself, Dareth suddenly leapt into view, clutching a dirt-stained photograph of Lloyd with his father.
"I haven't found any of the guys yet, but I think some of their stuff might still be intact." he muttered quickly, handing over the picture with a weary smile. "I'm going to try and see if any of their weapons are lying around here."
Before Nya could say anything, he was gone, plunging himself back into the makeshift sea of wood and metal. She rolled her eyes, scoffing slightly at his rather jarring terseness. Dareth's presence had not been the most comforting thus far, but he had shown up when it seemed like the entire world was against them. That was something, at least.
Turning her attention to the salvaged photograph, Nya couldn't help but feel snakebitten. She couldn't remember the last time Lloyd had looked that happy. It wasn't simply the expression of joy on his face, although it was perhaps the largest smile he had ever shown with a camera to his face. No, there was a level of boundless youth and exuberance, as if he was excited by the mere prospect of life itself, that had long since been extinguished; likely for good.
And of course, that smiling, benevolent old man standing next to Lloyd, the nonviolent hero who had sacrificed himself for the people of Ninjago, was gone. Not only was Garmadon dead, but now he had been forcefully replaced by a demonic shade of himself. En route to such a bastardized resurrection, Harumi had played god and played Lloyd, leaving him in such a wretched mental state that Nya feared her friend might never smile like that again. If he's even still alive…
She spun around and turned on her earpiece communicator, wistfully scanning the vacant city skyline as a hollow feeling started to grow in her chest.
"Lloyd, I don't know if you can hear this, but… if you're out there, find us."
Stumbling into the front lobby of Borg Tower, Lloyd's mind remained as conflicted as ever. Killow and the remaining members of the Sons of Garmadon had had nothing but praise for him as he crossed the finish line, and the drive back from The Teeth had done little to satiate the uneasiness in his mind. Regardless of how they tried to spin it, it was praise he simply could not accept in good conscience.
"Didn't think you had the guts to pull a stunt like that." He jumped slightly, so engrossed in his thoughts that he had nearly walked into one of his victims. Upon closer inspection, Luke Cunningham was looking pretty worse for wear; his clothes were torn, his stark-white hair laced with bits of dirt and blood, yet, he seemed like he wanted to murder Lloyd far less than he did a few minutes ago. Along with Luke, a few of the other bikers he had just raced against but didn't know personally were all gathered in the lobby, and he got the distinct impression that they had all been waiting for him.
"Think whatever you want, I don't care." Lloyd answered distantly, lowering his gaze as even more guilt poured through his system.
"Look at that, we're not even worth his time." Luke said sarcastically, flashing a cheeky grin towards the guy standing next to him before turning back towards Lloyd. "Nah, you're still weird, Garmadon, but you've got nerve, I'll give you that."
"Yeah, thanks." Lloyd mumbled softly, unable to fathom why the same people he had just sabotaged now seemed to respect him more for doing so. Turning away, he could see that the rest of the lobby was far less crowded than it had been earlier in the day, but eyes were still boring into him from every direction. Feeling incredibly unsettled, he quickly made his way to the elevator, waiting anxiously to get away from his admirers and detractors alike. He froze as the door opened, however, finding himself faced with the one person he least wanted to talk to right now.
"Ah, perfect timing, I was just coming to get you." Harumi said pleasantly, smiling towards him in a calm and peaceful manner. "Killow told me you succeeded in reaching The Teeth."
"Uh, yes, yes, I did." Lloyd said quickly, forcing a smile as he begrudgingly stepped inside. "I suppose that means I'm officially a member of the Sons of Garmadon?" She nodded, moving to select a floor before retreating back to the edge of the car. For whatever reason, her general demeanor seemed far more subdued than usual, and, while much of that could likely be attributed to an assumed attitude of professionalism, Lloyd suspected that at least a tiny bit of her excitement might have been genuine.
"Take off your clothes." she said abruptly, turning to face him as the elevator began moving. Lloyd's face turned bright red almost immediately, and it was several seconds before he could begin to think about what she was insinuating.
"I'm sorry?" he whispered, blinking rapidly and staring at Harumi incredulously.
"Well, now that you're one of us, you can't go around wearing that trash, now can you?" she murmured, pulling a fresh set of clothes from behind her back. "Besides, it looks like the race really did a number on your gi."
She flicked her eyes down, scanning his somewhat disheveled getup before holding out the new Sons of Garmadon uniform, a slight grin crossing her face. Lloyd, still heated and incredibly tense, quickly narrowed his eyes in annoyance, realizing that, of course, she had been purposefully vague and forward with the sole intent of catching him off guard. Typical.
"Whatever." Lloyd loosened his shoulder pad and belt, then shrugged off the top layer of his gi. He reached for the change of clothes, but Harumi pulled the set away from his grasp.
"Undershirt and pants, too." He rolled his eyes, before begrudgingly following her instructions. Clearly this was nothing more than another stupid test, just a way for the Quiet One to keep him on his toes and fuel her own bizarre power trip, but that knowledge didn't make him feel any less mortified. Needless to say, standing in front of his vindictive ex-girlfriend in just his undergarments was one of the worst punishments he could imagine; to such a point that he wasn't even bothered by the fact that he had been given a generic, entry-level uniform.
"I don't care, I'll wear the lame thug costume." Lloyd said finally, glaring at her as he collected his tattered garments. "But I'm keeping my old gloves for good luck, and I want this stuff cleaned." Despite his furious glare, Harumi continued to treat him with blissful ambivalence, simply shrugging in response. It was clear to this point that she was either going to treat him as a non-entity or a pest, and while he vastly preferred the former, the sharp transitions from biting ridicule to complete indifference were more than a little jarring. They both turned as the elevator doors finally opened, and Harumi quickly walked out, beginning to guide him towards wherever it was he needed to be. She stopped a few doors down the hall, motioning for him to enter with an almost bored expression.
"So, what am I doing here, your worshipfulness?" Lloyd asked tensely, briefly glancing past the door before turning his gaze back towards Harumi.
"You'll see." She turned away as she answered, beginning to walk away back down the hall before he could protest. Lloyd opened his mouth to call after her, then thought better of it, shaking his head in resignation. Opening the door, he found himself within yet another nondescript, sparsely furnished room, which was just like pretty much everything else he had seen so far. What set this apart from the rest of the renovated Borg Tower was the imposing chair placed in the center of the room, with a white sheet tucked behind it. Additionally, he couldn't help but notice the small but respectable selection of what appeared to be hair clipping tools lining the back wall.
"I don't need a haircut, I just…" His voice trailed off as he finally looked up and saw who was adjusting the seat for him. He gulped at the sight, finding himself face to face with Ultraviolet. She didn't look particularly happy to be here, and the thought of this infamously unhinged woman handling his grooming sent a shiver running down his spine.
"Look, blondie, I don't give a damn about how you like your hair done." Ultraviolet snapped, grimacing as she looked up. "Fact is, the other Generals and I have decided that you need to less recognizable so that the people will actually believe that you're dead. I don't want to be here any more than you do, so let's make this as simple as can be, shall we? You've got a choice between getting a shorter cut or keeping the length with a change in the color."
"Hmm." Lloyd had to give this choice some very serious thought, because, frankly, he didn't like either option all that much. He was actually fairly content with how his hair looked at the moment, both in its color and style, and both choices offered different sets of risks. He had a sneaking suspicion that, with a manic Ultraviolet snipping away, messing with the length wouldn't end well. And, even though he hadn't ever seriously considered dying his hair before, he knew it was a largely chemical process, and one that, if done incorrectly, could cause permanent damage to his hair. Ultimately, he decided that dying his hair could be a more interesting change of pace, and he also knew that, even if she was only using temporary dye, it would likely take a fair bit longer than a simple trim. Given just how agitated she looked, Lloyd felt that being able to waste both his and Ultraviolet's time was a small victory in and of itself.
"What colors do you have?"
Staring at his weary reflection in the mirror, Lloyd was stunned. He had opted for a light brown dye, figuring that it wouldn't be that much of a change, and despite his worries, Ultraviolet hadn't messed up and damaged any of his follicles. The result was a sleek yet subtle look, still noticeably lighter than any of the other ninja but not as much of a clear contrast as before. As for his new coworkers, Harumi and Luke both had stark white hair, and Chopper was sporting a somewhat unnatural shade of red, but pretty much everyone else he had seen so far was on the darker end of the spectrum; he hadn't spotted a single other blonde in the crowd earlier, and most of the brunettes had dark brown hair at that. Being more like everyone else was difficult for him to come to terms with right now, given that a large part of his identity and self-image had always been wrapped up in being a blond, but then there was another part of him that actually kind of preferred how he looked now.
Likewise, Lloyd also had to begrudgingly admit that the Sons of Garmadon uniform he had been given didn't look entirely out of place; in fact, while he was never a huge fan of sleeveless tops, the neon blue and pink coloring made for a fascinatingly dichotomous aesthetic, and he was glad that Harumi hadn't given him one of their bulky shoulder armor sets, since it would have covered much of the actual design. She had gifted him black jeans as well, which he was incredibly pleased about. He had seen that the majority of the Sons of Garmadon members wore gray pants and he felt as if that dull shade didn't fully match with the bright, almost cyberpunk-esque shirts, so getting black was really nice. I wonder if she made that decision on purpose or just picked an outfit for me without thinking…
A hurried knocking stirred Lloyd from his thoughts, and he quickly turned towards the door. "Uh, come in?" he called nervously. It swung open with a heavy, rather strained creak, and he was once again met by an agitated, overworked Ultraviolet.
"You've been called to speak with the Quiet One and Emperor Garmadon, blon-" She cut herself off, remembering almost immediately that his hair was no longer blonde, and her eyes narrowed as she stared at him more intently. "Okay, well… this is great, what the hell am I supposed to call you now?"
"Lloyd would be fine." he answered quietly, his tone only a little bit miffed.
"Ah, whatever, you… just be on the roof in five minutes or you're getting thrown off!" She slammed the door shut again, and Lloyd rolled his eyes; once again perplexed by her erratic mannerisms. He knew she didn't approve of him being here; that much had been made abundantly clear the night prior. But now, while she was acting just as bitter as before, something was out of sync. It almost seemed like she was being specifically forced to work harder just because she had spoken out against Garmadon, which Lloyd found both mildly amusing and a little bit foreboding. He shook his head, taking one last long look at his new room, small and barebones as it was, before reaching for the door and heading back into the hall.
Harumi could scarcely believe her eyes. The roof access hatch to Borg Tower had crashed open again, right after Ultraviolet had returned, and she had been about to yell at the intruder, assuming from the uniform and hair that it was just one of her many menial grunts. But no, he wasn't just another grunt. He never had been.
Whether Lloyd realized it or not, darkening his hair made him look more mature in a way, and, upon reflection, Harumi quickly came to the conclusion that she preferred this sort of dirty blonde, light brown hue over his natural hair color. Of course, that was partially because she had always looked at his blonde hair with a bit of envy. It reminded her of how she had been forced to bleach her own similarly colored hair to a far more bleak white shade by her adopted parents, and she could thus never look at him and not see the pitiful, youthful naivety she had lost long ago. Now, while Lloyd was probably just about as nervous and finicky as ever, his demeanor seemed more outwardly assured, and he fit in the Sons of Garmadon uniform better than she ever would have expected.
"Well… Lloyd, you certainly look different." she said quietly, raising her eyebrows slightly in surprise.
"What, Ultraviolet didn't tell you she dyed my hair?" he asked hurriedly, his brow furrowing as if her comment was somehow confusing. "But, wait, you were the person who made me go change how I looked in the first place, and-"
"It doesn't matter, we're not here to discuss your hair." Harumi interrupted sharply, rolling her eyes at his nervous questioning. I see nothing's really changed with his personality, then. At this thought, she noticed Ultraviolet eyeing her curiously, and quickly cleared her throat, shaking her head and quickly switching to the topic at hand.
"Our Emperor has some questions he would like to ask you about your interactions with the ninja last night." she stated curtly, motioning towards the silent figure standing at the edge of the roof. "Per his orders, this is to be a personal inquiry with no input from any of his Generals; we are only here to listen and observe."
"Oh, okay." Lloyd mumbled, glancing over at Garmadon with a somewhat worried look. Harumi found this reaction somewhat telling, of course, but she did not press him on it since, to be fair, pretty much everyone in the Sons of Garmadon organization, even her, would be more than a little intimidating talking to their Emperor in this fashion. She moved aside, pointing for Lloyd to approach, then drifted back to stand with her fellow Generals.
"Is it just my imagination or were you giving blondie there goo-goo eyes?" Ultraviolet whispered, smiling gleefully at her. Harumi's face turned red, and she quickly shook her head in response.
"Why… no, of course not!" She glared at Ultraviolet, furious that she would even suggest such a thing
"Have I done something wrong, father mine?" Lloyd asked pointedly, his tone suddenly far sharper than it had been just moments ago. Harumi turned at the sound, spotting him now standing a few paces behind Garmadon, who had still not lifted his gaze from the city below.
"No… at least not yet." Garmadon paused, before slowly turning his head to the side. "I simply need to know what your pitiful little band had been planning to do before they betrayed you, and where, if they have not already fled like cowards, they might now be hiding."
"Well, to be honest, we didn't really have much of a long-term plan." Lloyd admitted, his voice softening just a smidge but remaining rather icy. "Last night, our goal was simply to get everyone together and, either, yeah, temporarily evacuate, or if we couldn't get out in time, find someplace in the city to set up as a sort of base of operations, I guess. I can't say for certain where any of the ninja are now, but if they were already behind schedule and unable to pick me up in the Destiny's Bounty, I'd be surprised if they were then able to gather everyone else and make it beyond the city limits."
"Was every member of your group in this, this Destiny's Bounty at the time of your planned rendezvous?" Garmadon asked quietly, his tone still cold but showing greater interest.
Lloyd paused, thinking it over in his mind before shaking his head. "Um, no. No, they probably weren't. I know for certain that Kai, Cole, and Jay would have been there, but I think Nya, Misako, and Pixal would have been manning the failsafe water escape by then, or at least they would have been heading that way."
"What… what failsafe?" There was no mistaking the anger in his voice now. As much as Garmadon was attempting to remain entirely cool and collected, that revelation had obviously enraged him; likely, Harumi thought, because it was now possible that one of the ninja might have survived.
"Well, the three of them were supposed to be there with this little wooden boat we had acquired." Lloyd started tensely. "I can't say for sure if that's where Misako or Nya were, but I'm sure that's where Pixal was. I guess the thinking was that if the Bounty got stuck or something, then maybe I could just run until I got to the river and escape that way. Of course that didn't work because, as we know, the Bounty wasn't there, and, when I got cornered by the princess, I couldn't safely reach the water either."
"Hmm." Garmadon paused, possibly to collect himself then continued. "Let's say for argument's sake that these water travelers and sky shipmen were unable to reconvene. Where might they go next, thinking to find the other members of the party?"
"Well, unless their communicators were having worse signal issues than mine was having before I threw it away, I would find it hard to believe that they wouldn't be able to discuss where to go." Lloyd mused, putting a hand on his chin as he pondered the possibilities. "But, knowing them, they probably ignored or didn't want to believe my fake suicide note, and still spent a solid portion of the night looking for me. Naturally, after coming up empty handed, I'm not really sure where they might turn to for help. The most obvious place to crash would be Dareth's corner pad, since that's where Wu and Misako were staying before, but then they might think that would be too obvious a spot since, you know, you just found them there, and it would be an obvious place for us to look for them. And I'm not sure they'd be super keen to trust Dareth anyway, since-"
"Who, who is this Dareth?" Garmadon asked angrily, turning his head around to face Lloyd for the first time since he had arrived. Lloyd seemed to recoil slightly, taking a step backward, but then, to Harumi's shock, he started laughing. Her eyes flicked over to Ultraviolet again, and she couldn't believe it either; that, whether intentionally, or due to nerves, Lloyd had dared laugh at their Emperor.
"Oh, heh, well, that's a really interesting question, you know." he said finally, smiling fondly and appearing to be mostly ignoring Garmadon's fierce gaze. "It's a long story, but basically, Dareth used to run this Karate dojo right here in Ninjago City. Actually, uh, you tried to run the place out of business a while back and replace it with a frisbee golf complex so I wouldn't have anywhere to train."
"Fris- frisbee golf?" Garmadon was puzzled now, clearly not recalling the events being described.
"Well, anyway, uh, he's not really a Karate master or anything." Lloyd said quickly, probably not wishing to get stuck on such minor details. "He never really fought with us, given that he doesn't have powers or even know any martial arts, but I don't know, he's just relentless. Dareth always seems to show up at the strangest of times and in the strangest of places, hustling non-stop and looking for any chance he can to be a part of our team as the Brown Ninja. He's a nice enough guy, I guess, and, like I said, he had let Misako and Wu hide out in his apartment, but I really don't know if he's the guy they'd go back to in a moment of crisis, especially since he literally owns the Sons of Garmadon's biggest dive!"
"Dive?"
"Oh, yeah…" Lloyd's voice seemed to falter a bit, almost as if he hadn't meant to mention that detail. "Uh, Dareth is the owner of Laughy's Karaoke Bar in south side. It's not a super great restaurant in my opinion, but if you talk to any of the other guys here, they've probably been there. The atmosphere truly cannot be matched anywhere else in the city, although that's mostly because there's not another bar more filled with Sons of Garmadon members."
"Of course." Garmadon nodded in agreement, before turning back to face his city. "That is all." Lloyd looked to be somewhat caught off guard by the rather abrupt conclusion, but he simply bowed his head in recognition, then scurried back across the roof. Just before he started back through the access hatch, he turned his head to the side and fixed Harumi, or at least she assumed he was looking at her, with a conflicted, almost bewildered gaze. Unable to think of an immediate, snappy retort, yet unwilling to admit she was also somewhat confused by Garmadon's line of questioning, she simply shrugged and looked away, seeing him vanish back down onto the top floor of Borg Tower out of the corner of her eye.
"My lord, I-"
"Send a group out to this karaoke bar." he murmured, his voice distant yet firm. "Tell them to find this Dareth and figure out what he knows about the potential survivors."
"Ye- yes, my lord." Harumi nodded slowly, biting her lip slightly. She had wanted to ask him what he thought about Lloyd's answers, and how he would rate their strange new recruit's sense of commitment now, but now was clearly not the time for discussion. She spun around, moving to follow the quickly departing figures of Mr. E, Killow, and Ultraviolet, when a soft voice froze her in her tracks.
"And… have the boy accompany them."
Business was slow today. Unsurprisingly so, given just how tense and panicked city life had become, but that didn't make Dareth feel any better about his financial prospects going forward. A few Sons of Garmadon members had stopped by for lunch, and some of his other regulars had still shown up for his half-price Tuesday deals, either ambivalent or entirely oblivious to the city's sudden change in government. But, checking the clock on the far wall, it was now clear that his usual happy hour crowd was running quite late. Four o'clock came and went without any large influx in patrons, and while his happy hour specials never ran for just one hour, it was getting dangerously close to night time now.
Finally, that jingling bell, accompanied by a slight crossbreeze brushing into the bar, ushered in his first decently large group of customers. He looked over in excitement, but his face fell as soon as he realized that they were yet another bunch of pissed off bikers. It was a rather strange predicament he found himself in, relying primarily on the ninja's enemies for his business to stay afloat, but they usually paid their tabs on time, and, given all that had happened, he was not going to deny any one of them a drink.
"Ah, what'll it be, fellas?" Dareth called cheerfully, forcing a smile as the small crowd began to mill about. Killow was up front, as usual, and there were a few other guys he knew. Only three of them came right towards the bar, with the other half-dozen or so members choosing to loiter around as usual.
"Two glasses of vodka." Luke spat, slamming down a pair of coins on the counter with an irate gaze. Dareth was initially caught off guard by his tone, but then he remembered that this was Luke's first time back here since the ninja had gotten him locked up. I'd be thirsty for a drink after something like that too.
"Bourbon please." Mohawk added, cocking an eyebrow at Luke as he placed down his own coins.
"I'll just take a boba." Chopper said quietly, taking one of the seats adjacent to his friend and sliding over his money.
Dareth quickly nodded, scanning the rest of his restaurant as he busied himself with their orders. Right from the get go he had put himself on alert, since Mr. E was here and Mr. E was almost never here. Even stranger, Killow was still hanging off to the side by the jukebox, talking quietly with some new guy he hadn't seen around here before. Usually Laughy's was where Killow liked to kick back a little, just have some drinks and talk more casually with his boys, but clearly, this was not looking like an average, ordinary visit.
"Does the greenhorn want a drink too, Killow?" he called, smiling hesitantly at the secretive pair. Just as soon as he spoke, an air of apprehension filled the bar. Mohawk and Chopper seemed to share a look, then glance over at Dareth suspiciously. Killow quickly looked over at him, eyes flaring, and the new guy followed suit. He couldn't see much of the man's face, as he was wearing a black mask, but his eyes were filled with concern now.
"What'd you call him?" Killow asked tentatively.
"Oh, you know, greenhorn." Dareth answered, still confused by their tenseness. "It means newbie, basically. You, uh, haven't heard that saying before?"
"I suppose not." Killow said coldly, beginning to approach the bar as he spoke. "It's just, Emperor Garmadon decreed earlier today that the color green's been outlawed, and it almost sounded as if you were accusing one of my men of sympathizing with that godforsaken ninja."
"No, no, of course not, Mr. Killow, sir." Dareth sputtered. "You want your usual today?"
"That'd be splendid." Killow, although still watching him like a hawk, seemed to settle down a bit as he took a seat at the bar. "And no, the new guy's not here to drink. Just to learn."
Glancing back across the room, he saw that the masked figure was still standing off to the side, arms crossed as they leaned back against the jukebox. Dareth initially nodded in agreement, absentmindedly placing down the other drinks as he whipped up Killow's, but after a few moments, a look of concern grew on his face.
"Uh, learn what, exactly?" His question sparked a chorus of quiet chuckles, as Luke and Mohawk wolfed down their liquor in quick succession, then turned to look towards him with matching ominous grins. Chopper was still silently sipping his tea, but his eyes showed a similar amount of gated glee as the others.
Of course, their boss hadn't had his fill yet, so no one made a move as Dareth continued to prepare Killow's drink. Still, he felt his hands beginning to shake, now suspecting that he was working on borrowed time. The apprehension was making him all the more anxious, and, finally, after an agonizing minute that felt like half an hour, he nervously placed the finished drink on the counter. Killow's gaze didn't waver as Dareth slid his coins across, depositing them behind the counter with an air of apprehension. Just as soon as the glass was empty, the other Sons of Garmadon members seated at the bar jumped up and moved to corner him against the wall. Most of the others who had been milling about the restaurant gathered up behind them as well, evidently acting as backup.
"Look, fellas, I-" Dareth whimpered, his voice faltering as a switchblade was suddenly thrust at his throat. "I, I don't think weapons are necessary."
"What do you know about the ninja?" Luke was smiling devilishly, twirling the blade around in a threatening yet somewhat aloof fashion.
"Oh, uh, they lost, didn't they?" Dareth answered quickly, trying his best to play dumb. "Cole and Zane were in here a few days back, I think, but as a loyal subject of Emperor Garmadon, I certainly haven't been doing anything to help them now."
"Ah, so you do know where they are." Luke smiled towards Mohawk, then glanced back at Dareth with a sadistic glint in his eyes. "Because, of course, you couldn't refuse to help them if they hadn't come to you for help, right?"
Dareth's eyes widened in horror, and he began to panic at the apparent slipup. "No, that's not what I-" His voice was cut off again, this time quite literally, by a pair of vicious punches to the gut that immediately knocked the wind out of him. Eyes watering now, he felt himself being dragged upwards by two figures, obviously Mohawk and Chopper, before finding himself hanging against the back wall. Luke strolled up to him, grinning ear to ear and continuing to nonchalantly flip his switchblade around in his hand.
"So, as a loyal subject and all, you're going to tell us where they were, aren't you?" he asked ominously. "Otherwise… we might have to officially reacquire this establishment."
"Uh, of course, of course I'll tell you." Dareth stammered, desperately racking his brain for the best possible way to keep Nya and the others safe whilst not lying outright. "Well, last night I, uh, woke up to the sound of that big rock monster thing slamming around. It was a few blocks away from my apartment, so no harm done, but all the noise made it pretty tough to go back to sleep. I went and fetched myself a drink, but imagine my surprise when, suddenly, Nya, Misako, and Pixal are knocking at my door!"
"Nya, that's that feisty girl ninja, right?" Luke asked slyly, a slight smirk crossing his face.
"Yeah, but she's the real deal, man." Dareth said stiffly, bothered by what he assumed to be rather minute misogyny. "Of course, none of the boys were with her, I guess they had split the gang up for one reason or another, and the three of them, Nya, Misako, and Pixal, they were spewing some real crazy stuff about how I needed to help them in the fight against the Sons of Garmadon! I couldn't believe what they were saying, I mean, I've never had a problem with y'all and I sure didn't want to start nothing brazen like that at one or two in the morning at that, so I told them to leave and find somebody else to harass."
"That's the truth, bartender?"
"Yes, sir!" Dareth nodded fervently, trying his best to keep his composure as Mohawk and Chopper tightened their grips on him. "Shoot, I can take you to my apartment right now, and you'll see, I'm not harboring any ninja!"
Luke snarled, baring his teeth in frustration. "Yeah, we'll see about-"
"That's enough!" Killow barked, slamming his hand on the counter as he finally rose to his feet. "Rest assured, bartender, you don't have to worry. If any of these fugitives come crawling back, we'll deal with them."
"Tha, thank you, Mr. Killow, sir." Dareth wheezed, relieved that Chopper and Mohawk had finally released their hold on him.
"Come on boys, let's have a chat." Seeing Killow and Mr. E already retreating, reluctantly, the group followed their superiors back outside. The greenhorn lingered for a moment, fixing Dareth with a piercing, almost haunting gaze, before quickly turning and following his peers. He didn't know what to think. He wasn't sure exactly why they had suddenly targeted him, given that they'd never talked to him about the ninja before, but he also wasn't sure why Killow had intervened. Luke was acting recklessly, sure, and that entire impromptu interrogation was wildly illegal, but neither of those things had ever stopped any of the Sons of Garmadon before. And, of course, the greatest unknown was this new guy who clearly intended to keep a low profile. He was nearly as guarded as Mr. E was, although his body language was far more dynamic than Mr. E's ever was, and there was something almost eerie about his general disposition.
Of course, the far more pressing matter at the moment was the ambiguity regarding whether that group had just left for good, or was merely stepping out to talk out of earshot. Either way, Dareth wasn't going to waste any time, so, snatching up his phone from behind the bar, he quickly sent Nya the briefest, most concise message he could possibly think of.
Run.
Is that enough set up? I don't know, I think I might have to get one more focused, realtime chapter in before I can comfortably jump to the main plot of Hunted, although I am mostly satisfied with how this story is progressing so far. I'm especially pleased with how I've written the other minor members of the Sons of Garmadon, as I've had to do a ton of inferring and almost completely make up whole personality types for them. Of course, the original show never gave characters like Luke Cunningham much attention, which is a shame because honestly, Luke has actually been my favorite character besides Lloyd and Harumi to write about, so I really hope what I've written in terms of dialogue and stuff feels fairly genuine.