From the Inside

Chapter 5

Evening

*I own nothing and any similarities with any other works are purely coincidental.

Lloyd slowly pushed through the door, eyes lowered and ears still ringing as he emerged onto the sidewalk. He took off his black face mask, brushed his hair out of his eyes, and tried to steady his breathing a bit as a wave of guilt continued to flood his mind. Keeping his face as indistinct and placid as he could manage, he silently fell into line with the other grunts, not noticing that they were all looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" Lloyd started at the sound, glancing across the row to find an impatient Killow staring daggers at him. "Can we trust this bartender, or is he lying through his teeth?"

"I really don't know." he answered honestly, his voice hazy and soft. "I mean, I'm inclined to believe that the ninja aren't hiding out in his apartment, but he also conveniently forgot to mention his secondary safe house, which he was allowing my mother and uncle to stay in until yesterday. Uh, if you'd like, you could go in and demand that Dareth give you a tour of his apartment, and I could go stake out his corner pad at the same time."

The proposal sparked a smattering of hurried discussion among the Sons of Garmadon, which Lloyd ignored. He didn't care, nor did he possess the energy to listen in on their idle gossip. No, the only two people whose opinions actually mattered were Killow and Mr. E, and Mr. E was just as guarded as ever. Killow slowly turned to the nindroid for guidance, who merely shrugged; whatever that silent gesture meant, Killow quickly nodded in agreement to it.

"Sure, you can go stake out the place, Garmadon." he said finally. "Be back before sundown."

Lloyd nodded curtly, and quickly started off in the direction of Dareth's corner pad. It wasn't so much excitement at the assignment as it was an incessant, burning desire for solitude and separation from the stifling crowd, but he found himself hurrying down the road with a full head of steam all the same.

"Where do you think you're going?" Having walked halfway up the block already, Lloyd suddenly froze in his tracks. He didn't understand what he could have possibly done wrong now, and, slowly turning around again, he gazed at his superior with a look of utter incredulity on his face.

"You just said I could go-"

"I didn't say you could go alone." Killow interrupted. "We wouldn't want anybody wandering off and getting lost, now would we?"

Lloyd swallowed, shoving what little pride he had left deep down inside, before solemnly shaking his head. "No, sir."

A knowing smirk on his face, Killow turned to size up the rest of his men, who were all still cackling at Lloyd, then made his choice. "Cunningham, go with the brat. Make sure he doesn't try anything funny."

Lloyd had to stop himself from swearing as the person he least wanted to work with slowly trudged over. He watched with tepid interest as the rest of the Sons of Garmadon members walked back into Laughy's to confront Dareth, then turned to his gloomy partner.

"What are you looking at, shithead?" Luke spat, shoving Lloyd back with so much force that he nearly fell into the road.

Staring up at the distant figure, the white-haired menace who seemed to delight in making his life miserable, Lloyd felt his hands shaking with rage. Teeth bared, he seriously considered jumping up and smacking the smug look across the face, before thinking better of it and begrudgingly shaking his head. "Nothing. Let's just start walking."

"Walk? What, are you too scared to ride a bike now, Garmadon?" Lloyd sighed under his breath as he slowly rose to his feet, dusting himself off and glaring over at his partner, fists still shaking.

"No, but as it happens, I still don't have one that belongs to me." he said angrily. "I ran here, so I think I can make it to Dareth's place on foot just fine. Now, if you'd like to drive there and let me ride along with you, that-"

"There's no way in hell I'm riding with a queer." Luke interrupted, flicking his eyes up and down as if he was somehow threatened by Lloyd's figure and appearance.

"I, I'm not gay." Lloyd stuttered, his cheeks suddenly flushed and eyebrows raised in shock.

"Huh." Luke's expression seemed to soften, although not from dissipating anger, but instead, increased confusion. "Could have fooled me."

Lloyd rolled his eyes, but then he paused, and, a sly smile began to curl its up his face. "Well, if what you're saying is you think I look pretty, then-"

"No, that's not- oh, whatever!" With a flustered look on his face, Luke stormed off and angrily motioned for Lloyd to follow him. Lloyd chuckled to himself, happy with how he had turned the situation around on him. The contentment faded quickly however, replaced once more with growing concern and disgust. Although it was hardly the most pressing of his worries, he had a sinking feeling that this would also not be his only encounter with casual homophobia in the workplace.

The trip took only a few minutes thanks to Luke's reckless driving style, but those few minutes were nonetheless rife with anxiety for Lloyd. He had to reflexively wrap his arms around Luke several times to stop himself from careening off the side of the bike, and each time he did Luke seemed to recoil as if his skin was repulsive. Still, despite the dangerous, awkward driving situation, they both survived the trip unscathed, and, before he knew it, Lloyd found himself leading his irritable accomplice down the hall to Dareth's second apartment. There were signs of some sort of a struggle outside, with a broken pipe gutting out from the wall and a few singe marks dotting the floor. Even more conspicuously, the front door had been left both unlocked and ajar.

"Well, someone left here in a rush." Luke murmured, pushing the door open and entering the apartment. Lloyd nodded in agreement, and quickly followed him into the messy front room. He was at first taken aback by the sheer number of discarded fast food packages, but upon picking up a box, he found it completely coated in dust. Tossing it aside, he crossed the room and spotted a pair of unfinished paintings that had been strewn about on the table near the windows. The paint was barely dry, but the obtuse nature of the paintings, consisting of simple shapes and sloppy line art that didn't seem to mean anything, led him to believe that they could only have been created by a child. Or a really, really abstract artist.

"All the stuff in this room is just from when my mother left last night." Lloyd called distantly, trying not to think about how he had abandoned Wu when he was at his most vulnerable. "Remember we're looking for clear signs of activity from today, like, I don't know, stuff left laying around that looks like it could be ninja gear, or-"

"Or a kettle of tea still on the stove?"

Lloyd raced into the kitchen to see what Luke had found, but his reaction was quickly tempered when he saw that the burner was off. Closely inspecting the kettle didn't yield conclusive results either. The tea was stone cold now, and the fact that it was tea made it more likely to be leftover from the night before, since it was his uncle's favorite beverage. He shook his head, turning back to Luke with a muddled expression.

"Tea's too cold to tell." He started to halfheartedly scan the rest of the kitchen for any further clues, but was now resigning himself to the reality that they might not find anything. "I'll go check the bedroom just to be sure, but I'm starting to think this place is-"

His voice trailed off, and his eyes widened in shock as he saw a very familiar photograph laying on the counter. Pushing past Luke, he picked it up and held it up against the light, just to be sure it was the right one.

"No… no, this shouldn't be here." As one of the only pictures left of him and his father, this photograph was one his most treasured possessions, and, last he could remember, it had slipped away from his grasp after his ill-fated fight with Lord Garmadon. Of course, even if one of the ninja had found the photo and picked it up when they rescued him, that hypothesis didn't explain why it was at Dareth's corner pad and not on the Destiny's Bounty. Just in a vacuum, he felt almost disrespected by the photo's presence, but there was also only one scenario he could think of that could account for that discrepancy.

Without warning, Luke reached over and snatched the photo out of his hands, startling Lloyd and drawing him out of his trance-like state. "Ooh, nice haircut, blondie." he laughed, staring at the photo with a bemused expression. "What, did you use that sword to cut your bangs?"

"Oh, you're one to talk." Lloyd quickly grabbed the photo back and held it up for dramatic effect. "Look, this photograph wouldn't be here, it literally couldn't be here, unless one of the ninja had it on them. Damn it, whoever took this photo from me was here today. They were here, and we missed them!"

The lobby was deserted, and the daylight streaming in through the glass was quickly fading. She shouldn't have been here, posted to a guard post like this, but then again, she wanted to personally be the one to chew him out whenever he got back. Finally, with the sky almost completely devoid of light, she felt a rush of air and saw the front door slide open. They had made curfew by the slimmest of margins, but Harumi still glared at the pair of stragglers as they slowly walked towards her, wondering why exactly they had kept her waiting.

"Well?" she asked impatiently, crossing her arms and tapping her feet expectantly. "The rest of the group came back twenty minutes ago, so where have you two idiots been?"

The pair were both hesitant to speak, but for seemingly different reasons. When Luke turned to her, he looked more scared and anxious than she had ever seen him before. Lloyd, well, he just looked tired and disinterested with everything. She wasn't sure which was worse.

Luke cleared his throat awkwardly. "The ninja, they, well, er…"

"Spit it out." Harumi said sharply, her voice dripping with venom. "I haven't got time for this."

"Right, sorry." he nodded fervently. "Uh, we went to Dareth's second apartment and Lloyd found this photograph that shouldn't have been there. He said it meant the ninja were there, but we just missed them."

"You did what?" Harumi couldn't believe it, she was absolutely livid. Of course, all the other grunts had turned up empty-handed too, but Luke was one of her best soldiers, and Lloyd, well, he was dense but he had far more potential than most. In either case, this failure was inexcusable.

"We missed them, ma'am." Lloyd repeated quietly, his face blank and voice low. "But it doesn't matter much."

"Oh, it doesn't- hold on, what did you just call me?" The anger remained, and she definitely would have been screaming her head off at them, had she not been so puzzled by Lloyd's unusual aloofness.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We'll find them again, sometime."

Harumi stared at him incredulously. Luke was on edge, practically shaking in his boots, but the more she looked, the less Lloyd seemed bothered about anything. It was uncanny; his tone wasn't overtly patronizing, but, knowing Lloyd, she couldn't help but feel like him addressing her like that wasn't really a sign of respect.

Shaking her head, she reached down and snatched the photo out of his hands. Gazing at the glossy image, she felt her nose crinkle and eyes narrow. Oh, that's disgusting.

A youthful Lloyd, and a benevolent Garmadon. Seeing the pair of them together and happy like that made her blood boil. Not wanting to look at Lloyd's smiling face for another second, she started pulling and wrenching at the photo, trying desperately to tear it into shreds. To her surprise, the paper wouldn't seem to rip; she seethed as it just kept wrinkling and folding up on itself.

"You've got to burn them." Lloyd muttered stiffly, not an ounce of sadness in his voice. She stopped and looked up, curious as to why her attempt to destroy the image hadn't gotten a rise out of him. His eyes showed a bit of sadness, but they were lusterless and empty.

"Thanks." she said finally, not sure whether to be pleased or scared about the way he was acting. "Now, you're dismissed, both of you. Go get something to eat, then wash up and go to bed. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

"Of course, thank you, Quiet One." Luke ran out of the lobby, grinning wide with his usual arrogance. Lloyd said nothing and offered no gesture of indication before slowly walking after his partner. Now alone again, Harumi's gaze darted back down to the crumpled photograph in her hands. Silently thinking to herself, she sighed and cocked her head back around.

"Oh, and Lloyd?" she called, seeing him just about to turn into the next hallway. He stopped, shoulders stiffening as he slowly turned around again. His face remained mostly blank, but there was a bit of fire in his eyes now, just a little bit of annoyance that brought a smile to her face.

"Not a word of this to the Emperor."

When Luke walked into the dining hall, the whole room went quiet. All conversations ceased, and the sparse gathering of people who were still chatting and picking at their food all turned towards him. He figured that most of the grunts had already eaten and turned in for the night, but everyone left was clearly interested in his exploits. Grinning wide, he kept them wondering as he sauntered over to get his meal from the visibly displeased server. No surprise there.

Usually he would take issue with that sort of disrespect, but, within the Sons of Garmadon, kitchen work was one of the many menial tasks reserved as a punishment for prisoners and troubled gang members. Not so long ago he had been stuck there too, so, as Luke picked up a tray from the surly, shackled child, he tried his best not to let his pride show through too much.

"Thanks, kid." he murmured, turning away quickly and sitting down at the nearest table. Mohawk and Chopper greeted him meekly, but, as he dug into his meal, he became increasingly aware that everyone in the room was still eyeing him. His friends had stopped talking again, and they were looking at him just as curiously.

"What?" Luke said gruffly, tossing his fork down with his mouth full of pork roast.

"Well, what did you and Lloyd find?" Chopper asked expectantly. "Was there anything in Dareth's other apartment?"

"Eh, nothing much." he mumbled angrily, still choking down meat. "The brat found some photo that means the ninja were hiding there, I guess. I still don't really understand what he meant by it, but it means that bartender's a traitor. Shame, really."

"Oh, just perfect." Mohawk seethed, slamming his hands down on the table. "He's only been here a day, and he's already gotten Laughy's closed down on us."

Luke laughed, spewing tiny bits of half-eaten meat onto his tray. "Mmm, yeah. I think we're going to have to pay him back for that shi-"

Another hush fell over the room as Lloyd finally wandered in. Looking over, Luke saw him stop short the second he stepped into the room. His expression, which had been about as blank and indistinct as it had been the whole evening, quickly shifted to one of aghast shock, and his gaze was fixed on the child behind the serving table. Glancing back over, he saw that the kid's eyes were wide with horror. He seemed to be pushing back against his chains, as if trying to actively retreat from the straggler. Either way, there was a clear level of fear and trepidation in him now that hadn't been there before.

Without saying anything, Lloyd immediately turned on his heels and ran back the way he came. Mohawk and Chopper stared at each other incredulously, before eventually erupting in a chorus of laughter. Within seconds of their outburst, the rest of the hall moved on from the bizarre encounter and resumed their normal evening conversations. Luke remained uncharacteristically perturbed, however. He still didn't know who that new prisoner was, of course, and he made a mental note to ask The Quiet One if he got a chance to talk to her tomorrow. But the way that kid had looked at Lloyd, it was almost like he was death itself. And it left Luke feeling almost dirty for having consorted with him.

"What the hell are you playing at, Garmadon?" he whispered under his breath, eyes narrowing as he gazed at the empty hallway.

Racing back down the hall, he didn't stop to think or breathe until he made it back to the elevator. His appetite was gone. He ran past Harumi, startling her somewhat as he skidded back into the lobby. Ignoring her entirely, he darted inside as soon as the lift doors opened and punched in the floor, grateful that she hadn't decided to follow him again. Breathing strained and heart racing, he moved to lean against the back wall, then slowly slid to the floor.

"I'm sorry, uncle Wu." Lloyd croaked, his voice hoarse and weak as he curled his knees up to his chest. "I'm so sorry."

Eyes closed to slits, he felt his muscles shaking and quivering with fright. Too tired and overwhelmed by guilt to stand, he sat there in silence and was only stirred back to his senses when the elevator slowed to a stop. Dinging loudly to indicate that the right floor had been reached, he slowly opened his eyes to see the doors slide open again. He gasped slightly, narrowing his eyes and snapped his head back to attention at the sight.

"What are you looking at?" Lloyd spat, leaping to his feet and glaring at Mr. E as he stormed out of the elevator. Arriving at his room, he slammed the door behind him with as much fervor as he could muster. Kicking off his shoes, he collapsed down onto his bed and buried his head in the pillow. He wanted to scream, but it was like his lungs were all knotted up inside. Nothing came out, not even a whimper. Eyes watering and stomach aching, Lloyd wiped the salty tears from his eyes and lifted his head again.

"I don't know this ceiling." Reaching to turn off the light, he was startled by the immediate, enveloping darkness. His room was visible only through the dim light of the moon, and, rolling over to gaze out the window, he saw that the street lamps below had been torn apart. So many lights had gone out now. Eyes wide and body shivering, he laid back onto the bed and sighed. Nothing about this room, which might have been Cyrus Borg's personal quarters for all he knew, felt familiar.

Originally I meant for this to be longer, but I didn't feel like writing anything else and I also couldn't think of anything else to add. Regardless of my self-loathing, the next chapter should finally kick off the actual plot of Hunted, so that's exciting or whatever.